ShinyHunters breaches the FBI jobs portal
The group defaced FBIjobs.gov with its Pokémon mascot and claims to hold data on every agent and applicant in the system. Outlets including Reuters and 404 Media verified a sample of 5,000 agent records. The FBI confirmed it is investigating, and the special agent application portal went offline.
5,000
agent records verified
What happened
On 23 September, ShinyHunters claimed an attack on FBIjobs.gov, the FBI's jobs portal. The group replaced the site's images with its mascot, a Pokémon, and said it had taken data on every registered agent and applicant. As proof it gave several outlets a sample of 5,000 agent records, which Reuters and 404 Media found to be genuine.
The FBI only confirmed that it is investigating unauthorised activity on the portal, and the special agent application site went offline.
Why now
The attack follows a notice the FBI published in May questioning the group's claims. ShinyHunters is demanding that it be withdrawn and threatening to publish all employee and applicant data.
What it means for your company
ShinyHunters has spent the year attacking third-party platforms, especially CRM environments, to steal data in bulk and extort the victims. If it can do that to the FBI's jobs portal, any company's application form or CRM is a target too.
Data from a jobs portal is particularly useful to an attacker: staff names, roles and contacts to impersonate people and prepare targeted attacks. That is why it pays to watch not only your own systems but also which of your employees' credentials are already circulating.