A spreadsheet allegedly stolen from the FBI by the hacking group ShinyHunters contains personal information and detailed job assignments for bureau employees, including some involved in counterintelligence and surveillance, according to Reuters. The FBI says it is investigating a claimed compromise of its FBIJobs.gov portal and has not determined the cause.
The roughly 5,000-line spreadsheet includes names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and emergency contacts, the report says. ShinyHunters claims the file is a small sample of a much larger collection of stolen data. The group says it is withholding the information while demanding that the FBI withdraw an unfavorable statement about it issued in May.
Reuters has not authenticated the entire spreadsheet or confirmed that every listed assignment is accurate or current. It says it independently verified personal details for more than 22 people using other records. Verification used credit records and leaks held by District 4 Labs. It also matched the career details or titles of eight people against court documents, news reports, public profiles or social media posts.
Some entries list ordinary field-office postings. Others identify employees assigned to China- and Russia-related units, Iran- or Hezbollah-focused work, human intelligence, surveillance and technical operations. Reuters found 14 people listed in China-related roles and nine in Russia-related roles. The spreadsheet also identifies 11 people in human intelligence positions and 18 in roles involving interception, surveillance or covert technical work.
Former FBI counterintelligence operative Eric O’Neill said foreign intelligence services could use the information to identify employees working against them. Trevor Hilligoss, a former investigator who worked with the FBI, raised particular concerns about employees identified with human intelligence work and about the inclusion of relatives’ contact details. ShinyHunters says it is trying to prevent the sample from circulating widely. The FBI says its investigation is ongoing.