In the statement made by the US domestic intelligence agency FBI, it was said: "We are aware of allegations of unauthorized activities affecting FBIjobs.gov and are investigating the matter."
Cyber hacker organization ShinyHunters claimed in a statement published on its website on the dark web and in an online conversation with Reuters that the attack was carried out in response to the FBI's warning about the group in May 2026.
In the warning, the FBI explained the methods used by ShinyHunters and advised the people and organizations targeted by the group not to pay ransom.
"WE HAVE THE DATA"
According to ShinyHunters' claim, the seized information is not limited to FBI personnel.
The group claimed to have stolen data belonging to “almost all FBI agents and individuals applying to work at the FBI.”
As evidence of its claim, ShinyHunters shared a screenshot of the FBI's job postings site, which it said had been tampered with, and information that it claimed belonged to approximately 5 thousand FBI agents. The hackers argued that this data was just a small sample of the much larger data set they had.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshot. However, it appeared that the FBI's job posting site was indeed down.
In the message published on the site on Tuesday, it was stated that both the FBI's job portal and the special agent application system called "Special Agent Applicant Portal" could not be used.
HOME ADDRESSES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE
The content of the sample data set examined by Reuters raised serious questions about the extent of the incident.
The data included FBI agents' names, home addresses, social security numbers and assignment information. It was seen that some records also included the names of the agents' family members.
Reuters was able to partially verify the authenticity of the data.
The news agency compared some of the information, including social security numbers, with credit bureau records and previously leaked data sets maintained by darknet intelligence firm District 4 Labs.
Information was determined to match existing records in at least 10 cases, including one involving FBI Director Kash Patel.
A source with knowledge of the subject also said that some job descriptions in the data set are correct.
However, Reuters was unable to determine precisely where the data in question was obtained. Therefore, it has not yet been confirmed whether the information was stolen directly from the FBI's internal systems, as the hackers claim.
WARNING FROM FORMER FBI OFFICIAL
Former FBI official Cynthia Kaiser said data breaches like the one claimed by ShinyHunters could be 'extremely damaging'.
According to Kaiser, criminal organizations can use such personal information to reveal the identities of FBI officials investigating them or to put pressure on them.
Kaiser, who currently serves as senior vice president at cybersecurity company Halcyon, stated that even information from an old data leak from 2016 is still occasionally used today to harass FBI agents.
Kaiser summarized the situation with these words:
“Once stolen, this information is used forever.”
WHO IS SHINY HUNTERS?
ShinyHunters is one of the hacker groups that has made a name for itself with large-scale data breaches and digital blackmail operations in recent years.
The group recently claimed that it stole millions of corporate records from Rockstar Games, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto series.
ShinyHunters was also linked to a cyberattack centered on education platform Canvas in May. The attack caused widespread disruption in schools across the United States.
In September, artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced that it had detected that hackers affiliated with ShinyHunters were trying to use the company's artificial intelligence tools.
The group recently entered into an open conflict with another major cybercrime organization, cl0p. ShinyHunters announced in a statement to Reuters on Sunday that it had “launched war” against cl0p.
The public showdown between two major cybercrime groups was considered a rare development in the underground hacker world.
