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FBI special agents' medical records stolen in ShinyHunters hack

2 min
FBI special agents' medical records stolen in ShinyHunters hack

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Cyber-criminals who hacked the FBI claim to have stolen sensitive medical data for thousands of special agents. The FBI acknowledged the breach on Wednesday and said it was aggressively investigating. The hackers are demanding a retraction of an FBI advisory rather than money.

Key Facts

  • The hackers claim to hold sensitive information on around 60,000 current and former FBI staff.
  • The stolen records include agents' full names, addresses, blood and urine test results, and doctors' notes.
  • The cyber-criminal group ShinyHunters claims it breached FBI systems on Monday and posted details on its darknet site.
  • The hackers are demanding a retraction of an FBI advisory published in May, which they claim offended them.
  • Reuters reports that some of the data includes information on agents involved in investigations relating to Russia, China and drug cartels.

The Breach

The cyber-criminal group ShinyHunters claims it breached FBI systems on Monday and later posted details of the attack on its darknet site. The FBI acknowledged the breach on Wednesday and said it was aggressively investigating how it happened. The group shared samples of the alleged stolen data with reporters, along with an extortion demand. The samples shared with journalists appear genuine and include names, addresses, phone numbers, badge numbers, job titles and information about spouses.

Data Exposure

The stolen fitness-for-work medical examinations contain blood and urine test results, and doctors' notes mentioning conditions such as a shellfish and banana allergy. The records include agents' full names and addresses, as well as references to medical concerns including blood in the urine and high cholesterol. The records appear to relate to thousands of agents, including senior officials such as deputy directors. Reuters reports that some of the data includes information on agents involved in investigations relating to Russia, China and drug cartels.

Extortion Demand

Unusually, the hackers are not demanding money; instead, they are seeking a retraction of an FBI advisory published in May, which they claim offended them. Etay Maor, vice-president of threat intelligence at Cato Networks, said the list maps thousands of agents against their medical and fitness records. Jamie Akhtar, chief executive and co-founder of CyberSmart, said such data could be used for highly convincing phishing, impersonation, identity fraud, blackmail or even operations targeting law-enforcement personnel.

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