The Federal Bureau of Investigation disclosed on Wednesday that it is actively investigating a criminal hacking group’s claim of stealing “very sensitive data” belonging to thousands of FBI agents, applicants, and employees, and of compromising the FBIJobs.gov portal.

Agency response

In a statement, the FBI said it is “aware of a cyber‑criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information.” While the point of breach remains undetermined, the bureau emphasized that it is “actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third‑party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk.”

Website status

The jobs website, the primary portal for prospective applicants to learn about the FBI and begin the hiring process, remained offline as of Wednesday afternoon.

Hacker claim

The message, circulated online and attributed to the group ShinyHunters, asserted that the hackers had compromised the FBI and obtained data on “almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job.” The claim was directed at FBI Director Kash Patel and Assistant Director Brett Leatherman, who oversees the bureau’s cyber division.

Expert perspective

Data‑privacy attorney Miriam Wugmeister, who monitors hacking outfits such as ShinyHunters, said the group’s past behavior gives reason to believe the claims could be credible. She noted that the alleged data includes personal information typically targeted in breaches and warned that exposure could lead to extortion, swatting, and harassment of agents and their families.

ShinyHunters’ demand

In its communication, ShinyHunters demanded that the FBI remove a May public advisory that labeled the group a “cyber criminal group specializing in large‑scale data breaches and extortion.” The hackers called the advisory “false” and said the message was not a ransom or extortion attempt, asserting that federal policies did not apply.

Background on the group

ShinyHunters has a reputation for disruptive activity, including a previous breach of the Canvas learning platform that affected thousands of students. The FBI has frequently been a target of cyber attacks, with earlier incidents this year involving suspicious activity on internal surveillance systems and a separate pro‑Iranian group claiming to have accessed Director Patel’s personal files.

Investigation continues

The FBI has not confirmed whether the breach originated from a third‑party vendor or an internal system, and it has not verified the authenticity of the sample data of 5,000 employees that ShinyHunters reportedly shared with media outlet 404 Media. The agency says the investigation remains ongoing.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.