WASHINGTON: Data allegedly stolen from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the hacking group ShinyHunters contains detailed information about the job assignments of scores of bureau employees, including personnel involved in operations targeting Chinese and Russian intelligence, drug cartels and other sensitive areas, Reuters reported. The alleged breach includes a 5,000-line spreadsheet that the hackers claim is only a small portion of a much larger trove of two to three terabytes of data. The spreadsheet reportedly contains names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and emergency contact information for thousands of current and former FBI employees. It also includes assignments to specific field offices and, in some cases, sensitive intelligence, security and counterespionage units. The FBI said it was aware of a cybercriminal group claiming to have compromised the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleging that FBI employees’ personally identifiable information had been affected. The bureau said the cause of the incident remained undetermined and that it was “actively and aggressively investigating” the matter. Reuters said it could not authenticate the entire spreadsheet, but was able to cross-check some of the information against credit records and previous data leaks. The leaked material reportedly identifies employees assigned to China-related units, Russia-focused operations, Iran- and Hezbollah-related intelligence work, human intelligence, telecommunications and data interception, covert technical operations and electronic surveillance. Former FBI counterintelligence operative Eric O’Neill described the alleged data as potentially valuable to foreign intelligence services, particularly because it could link named individuals to sensitive assignments. Former FBI-affiliated investigator Trevor Hilligoss also raised concerns about the inclusion of emergency contacts, saying relatives of employees could face additional risks if sensitive personnel information were exposed. Reuters was able to match career details or titles of eight individuals in the leaked data with publicly available information, including court records, news reports, LinkedIn profiles and social media posts. However, the news agency could not independently verify whether all of the listed assignments were genuine or current. ShinyHunters claimed it had stolen information from current and former FBI employees and said it was withholding the data while demanding that the bureau withdraw a statement it issued about the group in May. The FBI had previously warned that the group sometimes made exaggerated claims about access to sensitive or personal information. ShinyHunters rejected that characterization and said its claims were genuine. Reuters said it could not independently verify the full extent of the hackers’ alleged holdings. The group has previously claimed to possess files related to employee and applicant vetting, background investigations and sensitive medical information, but said it would not release additional data.
