Crypto hacking group ShinyHunters says it stole data of 5,000 FBI agents

Crypto hacking collective ShinyHunters claims to have stolen the personal details of 5,000 FBI agents after gaining access to its database.

It shared a sample of the stolen data with a number of outlets yesterday. The data includes family members, social security numbers, and details of assignments.

Reuters was able to partially verify some of the data in the sample and matched it with other agents, including FBI director Kash Patel.

ShinyHunters also defaced the FBI’s job page with a picture of the Pokémon Umbreon.

Crypto hackers say FBI hack isn’t about the money

ShinyHunters told outlets that this week’s data theft was in retaliation for the FBI’s May 2026 report that detailed the activities and methods supposedly employed by the group.

It claimed the FBI made false allegations in this report, and has given the agency one week to either correct or remove the report.

The group shared with 404media that its data theft was not “financially motivated.” It said, “What we plan to do is not extortion, maybe coercion.”

An FBI spokesman also told the publiction that ShinyHunters was able to gain access to AWS GovCloud servers via a zero-day exploit in the Oracle product PeopleSoft.

ShinyHunters is still mostly in it for the money

ShinyHunters is an international hacking group known for stealing sensitive data and holding it for ransom in exchange for large sums of cryptocurrency.

Telephone company AT&T was extorted by ShinyHunters in 2024 after it stole the data of almost all of its 109 million customers. AT&T eventually gave in to the group’s ransom demands and paid it almost six bitcoin (worth $373,646 at the time).

In January this year, ShinyHunters claimed it stole user data from dating apps Hinge, Match, and OKCupid.

Four French men were arrested in connection with ShinyHunters in May this year, but the group has continued to operate regardless.