Topline
The FBI is “aggressively” investigating an alleged hack against the agency that compromised data on its employees, according to a Wednesday statement, making the acknowledgement after multiple outlets reported a hacking group took responsibility for the cyberattack.
The FBI issued a statement on the alleged hack Wednesday.
Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Key Facts
The FBI acknowledged claims from a “cyber-criminal enterprise group” that it compromised the agency’s job portal and FBI employees’ personally identifiable information, though it did not specify what sort of information may have been impacted.
The FBI said the “point of breach is still undetermined,” noting a third-party or the agency’s enterprise services could have been targeted.
The hacker group, ShinyHunters, told 404 Media on Tuesday it stole data on “all FBI employees and applicants.”
A breach of FBI data could compromise the safety of the agency’s personnel or give bad actors information on how the agency operates.
It does not appear the hacker group has published the data it claims it compromised.
The FBI’s job website remains down as of Wednesday afternoon, one day after the page featured a message: “THIS SITE HAS BEEN SEIZED BY SHINYHUNTERS.”
Tangent
FBI Director Kash Patel, who faced intense rebukes and questioning during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, has not publicly commented on the alleged hack.
Key Background
The alleged hack from ShinyHunters was done as retribution for an advisory the FBI issued earlier this year warning about the group, The New York Times reported, citing messages exchanged with ShinyHunters. The advisory said ShinyHunters specialized in large-scale data breaches and extortion, targeting major companies and “often stealing millions of customer records at once.” The group is demanding the FBI “correct or simply REMOVE” the advisory, the Times reported, noting current and former agency officials and cybersecurity experts have said the breach seems to be genuine.
Further Reading
‘We Hacked the FBI:’ Hackers Say They Have Data on All FBI Employees (404 Media)
ShinyHunters hackers say they breached FBI, stole data on bureau employees (Reuters)
Hackers Say They Stole Thousands of Sensitive F.B.I. Personnel Records (Forbes)
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