The hacking group ShinyHunters claims it breached the FBI and stole a large amount of information about current and former bureau employees, including details that could reveal sensitive assignments and intelligence roles.
Reuters reviewed a 5,000-line spreadsheet that the hackers said is only a small part of a much larger two- to three-terabyte collection. The data reportedly includes names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and emergency contact information for thousands of FBI employees. Some records also contain details about employees assigned to specific field offices and sensitive intelligence, counterespionage and security operations.
The FBI said it is aware of a cybercriminal group claiming to have compromised the FBIJobs.gov portal and affected employee personal information. The bureau said the cause of the incident remains undetermined and that it is actively investigating the matter.
ShinyHunters said it is holding the information and demanding that the FBI withdraw statements it previously made about the group. The hackers also said they were trying to prevent the employee information from spreading publicly.
Reuters said it could not authenticate the entire spreadsheet, but it was able to independently verify details belonging to more than 22 people by comparing the information with credit records and data from previous leaks.
Some of the leaked information appears to identify employees working on sensitive matters. The spreadsheet reportedly lists 14 people connected to China-related operations, including units described as dealing with Chinese criminal enterprises, technology transfers and intelligence. It also lists employees associated with Russia-related operations, Iran and Hezbollah-focused intelligence work, surveillance technologies and covert technical operations.
The data also reportedly includes FBI employees involved in human intelligence, or HUMINT, operations. Reuters could not verify that every listed assignment was genuine or still current, although it matched the career information of several people against court records, news reports, public profiles and online posts.
Security experts quoted by Reuters said information connecting named employees to sensitive intelligence roles could create risks, particularly because some records reportedly include emergency contacts such as spouses and children.
ShinyHunters has previously claimed responsibility for other major data thefts, including alleged attacks involving Rockstar Games and the education platform Canvas. The FBI previously warned in May that the group sometimes made exaggerated claims about access to sensitive information to pressure victims into paying.
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Reuters has not been able to determine exactly what additional information ShinyHunters may have obtained. The group previously claimed it had files related to employee and applicant vetting, background investigations and sensitive medical information, but said it would not release additional data.
