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Dutch 'reformed hacker' arrested in ShinyHunters investigation, police and boss say

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 28). Dutch 'reformed hacker' arrested in ShinyHunters investigation, police and boss say. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/dutch-reformed-hacker-arrested-in-shinyhunters-investigation-police-and-boss-say

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-28 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

On September 28, Dutch police arrested a 24-year-old man identified by his employer as Pepijn van der Stap in connection with the ShinyHunters investigation. Van der Stap was previously convicted for data theft and extortion but had been working as an offensive security lead at Neo Security after renouncing cybercrime. His boss, Benjamin Korper, stated he is shocked by the arrest and that there's no evidence of Van der Stap acting against his employer or clients.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Dutch man who transitioned from a hacker to a cybersecurity professional has been arrested in connection with the ShinyHunters investigation, according to Dutch police and his employer. The 24-year-old, identified as Pepijn van der Stap by his boss Benjamin Korper of Neo Security, was arrested on September 15 during a raid by Dutch forensic investigators. Van der Stap previously faced 2023 convictions for data theft and extortion but had publicly distanced himself from cybercrime activities. He is set to appear in court in Rotterdam on Tuesday. Korper expressed shock at the arrest after carefully vetting van der Stap before hiring him as the company's offensive security lead.

Written for “ShinyHunters Investigation Arrest” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 ShinyHunters Investigation Arrest
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Cybercriminal group claims it stole FBI personnel and applicant data Different event
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Hedges 10 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on a cyber breach by ShinyHunters, while Article B discusses an arrest related to the investigation of ShinyHunters. These describe different but related events.”
ShinyHunters hacker in FBI data theft detained in Jordan, cooperating with bureau, sources say Different event
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Hedges 4 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different arrests related to ShinyHunters, one in Amsterdam involving a reformed hacker and another in Jordan involving Saif al-Din Khader.”
What drives ShinyHunters, the group that claimed responsibility for hacking the FBI? Different event
CBC News
Hedges 7 of 34 claims Outlet record 74/100
“Article A discusses ShinyHunters' activities and claims of hacking the FBI, while Article B reports on an arrest related to a ShinyHunters investigation. These describe different specific events.”
ShinyHunters suspect also investigated for alleged murder orders, Dutch media report Different event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles refer to a 24-year-old man arrested in connection with ShinyHunters, Article B describes an additional investigation into alleged murder orders which is not mentioned in Article A.”
FBI sends warning to cybercrime group that hacked it after Dutch arrest of ‘leader’ Different event
NBC News
Hedges 9 of 30 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The first article reports on the arrest of a suspect in connection with ShinyHunters, while the second article mentions this arrest but also discusses a separate incident involving the FBI's website hack.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)
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Topics

AMSTERDAM Dutch Neo Security Reuters ShinyHunters

Subjects

Dutch NORP · 5× Van der Stap PERSON · 5× Korper PERSON · 3× Reuters ORG · 3× ShinyHunters ORG · 3× AMSTERDAM GPE · 2× FBI ORG · 2× Neo Security ORG · 2× Van der Stap's PERSON · 2× Rotterdam GPE · 1×

Narrative

Dutch 'reformed hacker' arrested in ShinyHunters investigation, police and boss say AMSTERDAM, Sept 28 - A Dutch man whose journey from cybercriminal to reformed security professional was widely covered in the international media has been arrested as part of an investigation into the hacker group ShinyHunters, Dutch police and the man's boss said on Monday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 In a statement posted to social media site X, Dutch police said that a 24-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the inquiry and would appear in court in Rotterdam on Tuesday.
2026-09-28 · The Straits Times
Dutch 'reformed hacker' arrested in ShinyHunters investigation, police and boss say · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)

Dutch 'reformed hacker' arrested in ShinyHunters investigation, police and boss say AMSTERDAM, Sept 28 - A Dutch man whose journey from cybercriminal to reformed security professional was widely covered in the international media has been arrested as part of an investigation into the hacker group ShinyHunters, Dutch police and the man's boss said on Monday. asserted
police → reform → Monday
In a statement posted to social media site X, Dutch police said that a 24-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the inquiry and would appear in court in Rotterdam on Tuesday. asserted
man → post → Tuesday
The statement did not identify the man by name, but his boss, Benjamin Korper of Amsterdam-based cybersecurity company Neo Security, said it was Pepijn van der Stap, the company's offensive security lead. asserted
it → identify → company
In a telephone interview with Reuters, Korper said his office was visited by Dutch forensic investigators on September 15, the same night Van der Stap was arrested in a police raid. asserted
Stap → say → raid
Van der Stap's 2023 convictions of data theft and extortion received widespread publicity, as did his subsequent disavowal of cybercrime. asserted
disavowal → receive → cybercrime
Korper said he had carefully vetted Van der Stap before hiring him and was shocked by the arrest. asserted
he → say → arrest
"Absolutely everybody I talked to is flabbergasted,” he said. asserted
he → talk → ?
He said he had hired an outside firm to investigate whether Van der Stap had hacked Neo Security or its customers, but so far investigators have found no evidence that he acted against his employer or its clients. asserted
he → say → employer
Korper said he had not been in touch with Van der Stap since the arrest. asserted
he → say → arrest
Attempts by Reuters to reach Van der Stap or identify a lawyer or representative were not immediately successful. asserted
Attempts → reach → lawyer
News of Van der Stap's arrest was first reported by independent journalist Brian Krebs. asserted
News → report → Krebs
ShinyHunters is a hacking group known for large-scale data thefts and extortion, most notable of late for the alleged hack of the FBI, where it boasted of stealing a large amount of data about current and former FBI employees. asserted
it → know → employees
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