FBI investigates breach of FBIjobs.gov after hacking group claims sensitive data
FBI probes breach of FBIjobs.gov after ShinyHunters claims it stole sensitive data on nearly all agents and applicants.
The bureau said in a statement that it was “aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating.” FBIjobs.gov, the main portal for prospective employees to learn about the FBI and begin the application process, remained offline Wednesday morning.
A message circulating online from a hacking group known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility. The message was addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel and the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s cyber division, and said the group had “compromised very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job.”
The claims could not immediately be verified. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment further, and an email to an address associated with ShinyHunters was not immediately returned.
In its message, ShinyHunters said it would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it called false allegations in an FBI public service announcement from May. That announcement described ShinyHunters as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.”
The May announcement characterized ShinyHunters as “threat actors” who often “use their real or exaggerated claims of access to sensitive or personal information to prompt payment from victims.” It said such actors commonly harass or threaten victims and “may falsely claim to have sensitive or compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos of victims, which frequently do not exist.”
ShinyHunters said in its message to the FBI that it was “offended” by those characterizations and demanded that the bureau remove them.
The FBI has been a common hacking target. In March, the bureau disclosed that it was investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system containing sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. Also that month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have hacked an account belonging to Patel and posted online what appeared to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work résumé and other personal documents dating back more than a decade.
Editor's Summary The FBI is investigating an apparent breach of FBIjobs.gov after ShinyHunters claimed to have accessed sensitive data on nearly all agents and applicants. The website remained offline, and the hacking group demanded that the FBI retract a May public service announcement describing it as a cyber criminal group. The FBI has not verified the claims and has faced other hacking-related incidents this year.