Cyber group claims it hacked the FBI and stole personal info on 5,000 employees
Por Eric Tucker — – World RSS Feed
Cyber group claims it hacked the FBI and stole personal info on 5,000 employees
These claims could not immediately be verified, and an FBI spokesperson declined to comment further
Eric Tucker Wednesday 23 September 2026 16:54 BST
- Bookmark
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popover
Become an Independent member to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
Your support helps us to tell the story
Read more Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference. Read more
Federal authorities are probing an apparent breach of the FBI’s recruitment website after a criminal cyber group claimed to have accessed “very sensitive data” on nearly all agents and job applicants.
“The FBI is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating,” the bureau said in a statement.
The site, the primary portal for prospective employees to learn about positions and apply, remained offline Wednesday morning.
An online message from a hacking collective known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the incident.
The message, directed to FBI Director Kash Patel and the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s cyber division, stated the group had “compromised very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job.”
These claims could not immediately be verified, and an FBI spokesperson declined to comment further.
An email sent to an address associated with the organization was not immediately returned.
ShinyHunters stated it was giving the bureau one week to correct or remove allegations from a May public service announcement that described the network as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.”
That 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,” routinely harass targets, and “may falsely claim to have sensitive or compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos of victims, which frequently do not exist.”
In its message, ShinyHunters claimed it was “offended” by those characterizations and demanded the bureau retract them.
The FBI has repeatedly been targeted by cyberattacks.
In March, the FBI disclosed an inquiry into “suspicious activities” on an internal system holding sensitive data related to surveillance operations and investigations.
That same month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to breach an account belonging to Patel, publishing old photographs, a resume, and personal documents online.
More about
FBIKash PatelHackingDataEmployees
Most popular
Popular videos
Bulletin
Read next
Fonte: – World RSS Feed
