The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing hackers’ claims that they broke into the bureau’s systems and stole thousands of current and former employees’ data, the bureau said in a statement Sept. 23.
A group known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the alleged hack on Tuesday. The gang said it had attacked the FBI in retaliation for statements the bureau had made accusing it of making exaggerated claims in the past.
One of the hackers shared samples of allegedly stolen FBI documents with Bloomberg. The documents outlined what looked like health reports on FBI employees, which outlined medical conditions and prior mental health issues of named personnel. Bloomberg News couldn’t independently verify those claims.
In an emailed statement the FBI said it “is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov, a bureau career website, and is currently investigating.” Fbijobs.gov on Sept. 23 returned an error message saying the site was “temporarily unavailable.” A bureau spokesperson declined to comment further.
On Wednesday morning, the FBI emailed all personnel saying it was investigating the hackers’ allegations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The email didn’t confirm that there actually had been a cybersecurity breach but urged employees to take steps to protect themselves while the investigation continues, said the person, who spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing internal bureau communications.
ShinyHunters has previously been linked to a number of high-profile breaches, including attacks that targeted Salesforce, Jaguar Land Rover and AT&T. According to the cybersecurity firm Huntress, the group has been active since 2019 and is one of the most prolific data theft and extortion gangs in the world.
As the premier US law enforcement agency, the FBI is a attractive target for both criminal hackers and foreign cyber spies. Like other federal agencies, it’s also suffered breaches in recent years.
This spring, the FBI concluded that a breach of the networks it uses to manage wiretaps and other surveillance work qualified as a “major incident,” signaling the severity of an intrusion that had already prompted the agency to launch a criminal probe and move to toughen cybersecurity.
An inquiry into abnormal activity on the compromised network was opened on Feb. 17, according to a notice to Congress from the Justice Department that was reviewed by Bloomberg News. The affected system contained sensitive law enforcement information, including data from electronic surveillance and personal identification information on subjects of bureau investigations, according to the notice.
After hackers broke into AT&T Inc.’s systems in 2024, FBI leaders warned staff that they believed hackers stole months of their agents’ call and text logs, setting off a race within the bureau to protect the identities of confidential informants, Bloomberg reported in 2025. FBI officials told agents across the country that details about their use on the telecom carrier’s network were believed to be among the billions of records stolen in the breach.
Photo: A computer screen displays the seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the FBI headquarters in Washington. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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