FBI Arrests Another Suspected ShinyHunters Hacker After Agency Breach

The FBI has arrested another person suspected of working with the ShinyHunters extortion group, which is believed to be involved in a recent breach of FBI systems. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest Friday, but did not name the suspect or say where it took place.

The New York Times reported that the suspect is a Canadian citizen arrested in Pennsylvania and considered a primary co-conspirator in the intrusion. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the suspect’s name or the specific charges.

ShinyHunters claimed it accessed FBI systems by exploiting an alleged Oracle PeopleSoft zero-day vulnerability, then moved into FBI-managed AWS GovCloud infrastructure. The group said it stole between 2TB and 3TB of data, including records related to current and former FBI employees and job applicants. BleepingComputer and other outlets reviewed data samples that included personal and employment information. The New York Times also reported that an internal FBI memo said the agency assumed the breach had affected all employees.

The FBI has said the incident involved a platform managed by a third-party contractor that failed to install a security update. The latest arrest follows other law enforcement actions, including the September 15 arrest of a 24-year-old Amsterdam man identified as Pepijn van der Stap. ShinyHunters denied he was associated with the group. The source report says a suspected member known online as “Rey” was later detained in Jordan and reportedly began cooperating with investigators. It remains unclear whether recent arrests are connected to the disappearance of a ShinyHunters representative.