'Extremely sensitive medical data' for FBI agents among hacked records: Report
The FBI said it's investigating claims of a "compromise" of its jobs portal.
An alleged hack of FBI personnel files includes "extremely sensitive medical data for thousands of its special agents," and "blood and urine test results" are among stolen records, according to a report from BBC News.
A BBC News reporter said he has seen samples of the stolen "fitness for-work" medical examinations after hackers reached out to him.
404 Media first reported the alleged hack on Tuesday, saying that a group called ShinyHunters "shared a list of 5,000 alleged FBI officials" with it.
404 Media co-founder Joseph Cox told ABC News "Start Here" podcast host Brad Mielke that while ShinyHunters has not publicly released the allegedly stolen data, "it provided a quite sizable sample to some journalists, including myself."
ABC News has not independently obtained or verified any of the allegedly hacked information.
The FBI issued a public service announcement alert in May warning of the threat posed by ShinyHunters, which they describe as a "cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion."
ShinyHunters actors "commonly use harassment strategies, sending threatening text messages and phone calls to victims and their family members, and in some cases, swatting," according to the FBI.
The alert also says ShinyHunters had "access to sensitive data could provide them an opportunity to sell the stolen data to other cyber criminals."
Cox said in the instance of the alleged FBI hack, it might not be about the money -- ShinyHunters, he said, wants the FBI to correct the record about claims the agency made about the hacking group.
In a statement, the FBI said it "is aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information (PII). While the point of breach is still undetermined -- whether a third-party or the FBI’s enterprise -- 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."
Since 2017, FBIJobs.gov has been the primary place for job-seekers to apply for employment at the FBI for agent and support positions.
The FBI is continuing to assess the extent of the breach and what information may have been compromised, according to sources familiar with the matter.