The FBI is aggressively investigating an alleged hack by cyber-criminals who claim to possess sensitive medical data belonging to thousands of its special agents. The stolen "fitness-for-work" medical examinations reportedly include blood and urine test results, doctors' notes, and details of conditions such as allergies and high cholesterol, alongside agents' full names and addresses.
The cyber-criminal group ShinyHunters claims to have breached FBI systems on Monday, posting details on its darknet site. The group shared samples of the alleged stolen data with reporters and is demanding a retraction of an FBI advisory from May, which they claim "offended" them, rather than a monetary payment.
Experts, including Etay Maor of Cato Networks, suggest such a breach could leave agents vulnerable to scams, blackmail, and targeted attacks. Professor Ciaran Martin, former head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, described the hack, if confirmed, as "as serious as it gets when it comes to data breaches."
The FBI acknowledged the breach on Wednesday and stated it was investigating how it occurred. The agency is also working with third-party providers supporting FBIJobs.gov to mitigate risks, as the hackers claim to have exploited a vulnerability in an Oracle cloud storage system used by the FBI.