Dutch authorities and the FBI said Tuesday that Dutch law enforcement had arrested a leader of ShinyHunters, the international cybercrime group that last week claimed to have hacked an FBI website and stolen sensitive personal information on agents.
asserted
that → say → agents
The bureau is not explicitly tying the Dutch man’s arrest to the FBI hack, which seemingly occurred after the man was detained, but is using it to warn other members of the ShinyHunters criminal ring.
asserted
man → tie → ring
In a video statement published to the FBI website, Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman addressed the hackers directly and urged them to confess to law enforcement.
asserted
Leatherman → publish → enforcement
“To the remaining members of ShinyHunters: You’ve heard about the arrest of your colleague,” Leatherman said.
asserted
Leatherman → remain → colleague
“Other groups believed anonymity or their friends would protect them and they were wrong.
asserted
they → believe → them
Arrests have a way of changing who is willing to talk, and seized infrastructure has a way of showing us who’s left,” he said.
asserted
he → have → us
“I suggest you reach out first while the choice is still yours.”
asserted
choice → suggest → ?
Leatherman did not directly address the FBI hack in his message to ShinyHunters.
asserted
Leatherman → address → ShinyHunters
Earlier on Tuesday, Dutch National Police announced that on Sept. 15 it had arrested a 24-year-old Amsterdam man suspected of being a ShinyHunters hacker.
asserted
it → announce → man
They said he is separately being investigated for allegedly ordering two murders abroad.
uncertain
he → say → murders
It routinely hacks companies to steal sensitive data and then threatens to leak it onto the dark web unless they’re paid a fee.
asserted
they → hack → fee
Last week, ShinyHunters announced on its website it had hacked the FBI’s jobs portal site and stolen significant personal information on agents.
asserted
it → announce → agents
The group demanded that the FBI retract a public service announcement about the group issued in May.
uncertain
FBI → demand → May
It gave a deadline of Sept. 29 to do so, though it did not explicitly say it would publish the data it had stolen.
asserted
it → give → data
ShinyHunters breached the FBI on Sept.21, placing the hack after the Dutch man’s arrest.
asserted
ShinyHunters → breach → arrest
The group did not respond when asked about the arrest and Leatherman’s message.
asserted
group → respond → arrest
While the full extent of what ShinyHunters stole from the FBI is unclear, a ShinyHunters spokesperson sent NBC News a sample document that included sensitive personal information about a former agent, who confirmed it was authentic.
uncertain
it → steal → agent
According to a Justice Department notification to lawmakers obtained by NBC News, the FBI designated the matter a cybersecurity incident on Sept. 22.
uncertain
FBI → accord → Sept.
It said the affected system holds sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses and emergency contact information, and that investigators are still working to determine how many people may have been affected.
uncertain
people → say → birth
ShinyHunters also claimed to have used its access to the FBI jobs portal to pivot and steal a cache of other information from multiple other agency programs, but did not provide evidence of those claims.
uncertain
ShinyHunters → claim → claims
The FBI sent a message to employees on Friday saying they were working on the premise that personally identifiable information of employees may have been obtained, according to a person familiar with the communication, and to be vigilant and report any unsolicited contacts.
uncertain
information → send → contacts
The person said that some FBI employees were frustrated that they heard about the data breach from the media as well as what they saw as a slow response from the bureau.
asserted
they → say → bureau
“The FBI is working around the clock to investigate the cyber incident involving FBIJobs.gov and is in regular communication with anyone who may be impacted — including multiple Bureau wide communications within 24 hours of public reporting.
uncertain
who → work → reporting
The FBI treats the security of its information and the safety of its workforce as top priorities, and our investigation is ongoing,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement.
asserted
spokesperson → treat → statement
On Monday afternoon, before the FBI’s announcement, the ShinyHunters spokesperson told NBC News that it now was committed not to publish any data it had stolen from the agency.
asserted
it → tell → agency
The spokesperson added a lengthy statement that indicated it was backing down from its demand the PSA be retracted.
asserted
PSA → add → demand
“This was all a marketing campaign to protect our business and actively combat disinformation,” the statement said.
asserted
statement → protect → disinformation
It may have been worded like a threat but ultimately the public has drove this story out of context and made their own wild assumptions and speculations
uncertain
public → word → assumptions
,” it said.
asserted
it → say → ?
“We stand corrected.”
asserted
We → stand → ?
The Aporia
