British BBC News reports that the hacker group ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen highly sensitive medical data of thousands of FBI agents in the US. The published samples include blood and urine test results, as well as medical screening records for work clearance, which mention allergies to seafood and bananas.
According to the publication, these materials include full names, addresses, badge numbers, job titles, phone numbers, and spouse information. BBC News writes that the records appear authentic and contain not only general biographical data but also medical details, including blood in the urine and high cholesterol.
The FBI said it continues an “active and aggressive” investigation into the incident. The bureau also did not specify whether its own server was directly hacked or whether the attack went through a third-party contractor that maintains the FBIJobs.gov site.
ShinyHunters claims it gained access to FBI systems on Monday and then posted details of the breach on the dark web. According to the group, it is demanding not money, but the withdrawal of an FBI warning published in May and, it claims, “insulting” to hackers.
At first, the group spoke of 38,000 active FBI employees, and then said the dataset could cover about 60,000 current and former workers. The BBC News report says those affected include senior leaders, including deputy directors.
Experts quoted by BBC News warn of risks of fraud, extortion, phishing, and impersonation of law enforcement officers. Etay Maor of Cato Networks said medical records cannot simply be changed like a password, while CyberSmart chief Jamie Akhtar urged caution in treating hackers’ claims, although he called the incident itself highly alarming.
Reuters, cited by BBC News, says some of the data concerns people linked to investigations involving Russia, China, and drug cartels. The hackers said they will publish the full dataset in five days if the FBI does not meet their demand.
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