Dutch National Police Arrest Member of Group That Claimed to Have Hacked FBI
Updated on: September 29, 2026 / 5:38 PM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- A suspected member of the cyber group ShinyHunters, Pepijn van der Stap, has been arrested by Dutch National Police.
- ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for hacking the FBI's jobs website days before the suspect's arrest.
- Van der Stap is also suspected of attempting to incite two murders.
- The suspect was previously convicted in 2023 for data thefts and extortions using the hacker handle 'Umbreon'.
- Authorities seized data carriers and found information on his laptop related to planned murders abroad.
- FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman stated the cybercriminal and co-conspirators breached over 140 organizations and extorted $70 million.
- The FBI is working with international partners to pursue further leads based on this arrest.
- ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen two to three terabytes of data related to FBI and Justice Department workers using a vulnerability in Oracle PeopleSoft.
- An internal FBI email confirmed the hack and acknowledged that personal information of some employees was stolen.
- Affected FBI employees have been advised to take heightened security precautions and report suspicious contacts.