ShinyHunters website goes offline after FBI deadline expires
The ShinyHunters group says on September 22 it had stolen data ;on almost ALL FBI Agents, and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job'
Source: Rappler · October 1, 2026 at 3:02 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-source
KUALA LUMPUR, 1 OCTOBER 2026 —
The ShinyHunters website went offline on Wednesday, September 30, a day after the group’s deadline for the FBI to amend or remove a public advisory on its tactics expired.
Market Impact
The cyber‑extortion collective said on September 22 that it had obtained personal and sensitive data on “almost ALL FBI Agents, and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job.” A Reuters analysis of a sample of the stolen files confirmed the presence of extensive personally identifiable information, job‑role details and psychiatric and medical data.
ShinyHunters, which has a long record of targeting major corporations worldwide, told Reuters and other outlets that the hack was a response to a May 2026 FBI advisory that the group said misrepresented its prior actions. The hackers gave the agency a week to “correct or simply REMOVE” the advisory. The advisory remains online. The group later said it had no intention of publishing the stolen data and that it had achieved its objectives.
The FBI said on September 23 that it was “actively and aggressively investigating” the breach. Assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, Brett Leatherman, posted a video on September 29 urging the hackers to contact the bureau “while the choice is still yours.” The agency declined to comment on whether it had taken any steps that led to the website’s shutdown.
Dutch police announced on September 15 that they had arrested a Dutch man in connection with an investigation into ShinyHunters. The group told Reuters the arrested individual had “no association” with them and mocked the police as “incompetent.”
The disappearance of the ShinyHunters site removes a public repository of the compromised FBI data, but the breach itself underscores vulnerabilities in government personnel records that could have implications for regional security cooperation and cyber‑defence strategies. Further actions by the FBI or law‑enforcement agencies are not detailed, leaving the next steps in the investigation unclear.
Related: FBI