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A cybercriminal group has claimed it breached the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and stole sensitive personal information belonging to thousands of agents, employees and job applicants.
The group, known as ShinyHunters, said it had obtained between two and three terabytes of data after compromising the FBI’s jobs portal.
The alleged information includes names, home addresses, phone numbers and other personal details of FBI personnel and applicants.
Reuters reported that a 5,000-line sample allegedly obtained by the hackers contained details about FBI employees, including assignments involving China, Russia, drug cartels, cyber investigations and other sensitive areas.
Reuters said it was able to independently verify details of more than 22 people in the sample, although it could not authenticate the entire dataset.
The FBI said it was aware of claims concerning unauthorised activity affecting FBIJobs.gov and alleged exposure of employees’ personally identifiable information.
The bureau said the point of the breach had not yet been determined and that it was “actively and aggressively” investigating the incident.
The FBI’s jobs website was taken offline following the incident.
ShinyHunters said the attack was not financially motivated. Instead, the group demanded that the FBI retract or amend a May advisory that described ShinyHunters as a cybercriminal group involved in large-scale data theft and extortion.
The hackers’ claims about the full scale of the breach have not been independently verified.
Cybersecurity experts, however, have warned that the alleged exposure of agents’ identities and personal information could pose risks to them and their families.