ShinyHunters hackers say they breached FBI, stole data on bureau employees

On Tuesday, the hacking collective ShinyHunters announced they had infiltrated the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and stolen data on numerous current and former FBI personnel. The bureau has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the incident. In a statement on their dark-web site and during a chat with Reuters, ShinyHunters claimed to have specifically targeted the FBI following a May 2026 announcement detailing their methods and warning potential targets against paying ransoms.

The group stated that they had obtained data on almost all FBI agents and individuals who applied for employment with the bureau. As evidence, ShinyHunters provided a screenshot of a damaged FBI job site and a small portion of their allegedly stolen data. While Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of the screenshot, the job site and the FBI's Special Agent Applicant Portal were reportedly inaccessible at the time of the report.

To validate the claimed stolen information, Reuters cross-referenced names, addresses, and Social Security numbers with credit bureau records and previous breaches preserved by the dark-web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. In nine instances, the data appeared to correspond accurately. However, Reuters could not determine the origin of the data or confirm whether it was obtained directly from the FBI's internal systems as claimed by the hackers.

Attempts to contact the individuals whose information was included in the sample were unsuccessful. ShinyHunters is recognized as one of the world's most notorious and attention-seeking hacking groups, having previously targeted high-profile organizations such as video game developer Rockstar Games and education platform Canvas.