Hackers reported FBI website breach and obtaining employee data

Hackers claim they attacked the FBI in response to a message published by the agency in May 2026. It described the group's methods and contained a call not to pay ransomware demands.

Representatives of ShinyHunters stated that they obtained data of "almost all FBI agents and people who applied for jobs" at the bureau. As proof, they published a screenshot, allegedly taken on the FBIjobs.gov website modified by hackers, as well as information about approximately 5,000 agents.

Reuters could not confirm the authenticity of the screenshot but noted that the FBI job applicant website had likely experienced recent glitches. An agency statement on September 22 said that the website and the portal for special agent applicants were temporarily unavailable.

The database fragment exposed by the hackers contained agents' names, home addresses, social security numbers, job titles, and in some cases, family members' names.

Reuters journalists were able to partially confirm the authenticity of some data. They cross-referenced information, including social security numbers, with credit bureau data and previously stolen information held by District 4 Labs, a company that analyzes darknet information.

In at least ten cases, including that of FBI Director Kash Patel, journalists found data that clearly matched. A Reuters source familiar with the situation also reported that in some cases, job title descriptions matched.

However, Reuters could not ascertain the origin of this data or whether it was indeed stolen from internal FBI systems, as the hackers claim. Journalists were unable to contact the individuals whose data was included in the published fragment.

Former FBI employee Cynthia Kaiser, now Senior Vice President at cybersecurity company Halcyon, stated that such leaks pose an extreme danger. According to her, criminals can use stolen data to expose the identities of employees investigating their activities and to pressure them.

Kaiser recalled that information stolen during a 2016 leak is still being used to harass FBI employees. She emphasized that once stolen, such data can be used indefinitely.

ShinyHunters is considered one of the most well-known hacker groups in the world. Its recent attacks include the alleged theft of millions of business records from video game developer Rockstar Games, creator of Grand Theft Auto, and a May attack on the educational tool Canvas, which caused widespread disruptions in U.S. schools.

Earlier in September, Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, reported detecting hackers linked to ShinyHunters attempting to use its tools.

On September 20, the group told Reuters it had begun a confrontation with another well-known cybercriminal organization, cl0p. Public conflicts between hacker groups are rare.

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