- Published
Cyber-criminals who hacked the FBI say they have extremely sensitive medical data for thousands of its special agents.
asserted
they → publish → agents
BBC News has seen samples of the stolen "fitness-for-work" medical examinations, which contain information such as blood and urine test results, and doctors' notes mentioning conditions such as a "shellfish and banana allergy".
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which → see → allergy
The records include agents' full names and addresses, as well as references to medical concerns including 'blood in the urine' and 'high cholesterol'.
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records → include → urine
Experts say the hack - which the FBI is investigating - could leave agents vulnerable to scams, blackmail and targeted attacks, as well as help criminals impersonate law enforcement officers.
"
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criminals → say → officers
The list maps thousands of agents against their medical and fitness records," said Etay Maor, vice-president of threat intelligence at Cato Networks.
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Maor → map → Networks
"Passwords can be reset if stolen, but medical records cannot, so once this data is out, it stays compromised for good.
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it → reset → ?
That permanence, applied across an entire workforce, is what makes this leak so serious."
The FBI has not responded to requests for comment.
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FBI → apply → comment
However, on Wednesday it acknowledged the breach and said it was "aggressively investigating" how it happened.
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it → acknowledge → breach
The cyber-criminal group ShinyHunters claims it breached FBI systems on Monday, and later posted details of the attack on its darknet site.
uncertain
it → claim → site
The group also shared samples of the alleged stolen data with reporters, along with an extortion demand.
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group → share → demand
Unusually, the hackers are not demanding money.
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hackers → demand → money
Instead, they are seeking a retraction of an FBI advisory published in May, which they claim "offended" them.
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they → seek → them
The samples shared with journalists appear genuine and include names, addresses, phone numbers, badge numbers, job titles and information about spouses.
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samples → share → spouses
The records appear to relate to thousands of agents, including senior officials such as deputy directors.
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records → appear → directors
Professor Ciaran Martin, the former head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, has described the hack - if confirmed - "as serious as it gets when it comes to data breaches."
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it → describe → breaches
The news agency Reuters reports that some of the data includes information on agents, external involved in investigations relating to Russia, China and drug cartels.
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some → report → Russia
Reporting by 404 Media suggests details of a previously little-known FBI hacking unit may also have been exposed, external.
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details → report → unit
It was initially thought the breach affected the FBI's 38,000 current employees, but the hackers now claim the number could be far higher.
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number → think → employees
The group says it underestimated the scale of the data theft and now claims to hold sensitive information on around 60,000 current and former FBI staff.
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it → say → staff
Jamie Akhtar, chief executive and co-founder of CyberSmart, said the hackers' claims should be treated with caution but that the breach appeared to be extremely concerning.
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breach → say → caution
"Such data could be used for highly convincing phishing, impersonation, identity fraud, blackmail or even operations targeting law-enforcement personnel, making the potential implications particularly serious," he said.
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he → use → personnel
The hackers, who communicate with reporters in English via the messaging service, Telegram, say they will publish the full dataset in five days unless the FBI meets their demands.
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FBI → communicate → demands
ShinyHunters is an international hacking collective that has been active since 2019 and has been linked to a number of high-profile cyber-attacks, including incidents affecting Rockstar Games and the education platform Canvas.
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that → link → Games
The group claims it exploited a vulnerability in an Oracle cloud storage system used by the FBI, gaining access to multiple platforms including FBIJobs, FBI BEAST, which handles background checks on employees and applicants, FBI MedLink, which stores medical records, and FBI BICS, which contains investigative information.
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which → claim → information
In a statement posted on X, the FBI said it was still trying to determine whether the hackers had breached its systems directly or compromised a third-party provider.
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hackers → post → provider
"We are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk," the statement said.
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statement → investigate → risk
The Aporia
