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ShinyHunters hackers say they breached FBI, stole data on bureau employees. 23 Sep 2026 01:38AM (Updated: 23 Sep 2026 06:49AM) Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. WASHINGTON, Sept 22: The digital extortion group known as "ShinyHunters" said on Tuesday that it had breached the Federal Bureau of Investigation and stolen data on a huge number of current and former FBI employees. Later, the FBI said in a statement that the agency "is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating." In a statement posted to its dark-web site and during an online chat with Reuters, ShinyHunters said it had targeted the FBI in response to a May 2026 agency announcement that detailed ShinyHunters' methods and advised targets not to pay. It said it had stolen data "on almost ALL FBI Agents, and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job." As proof, the group offered what it said was a screenshot of a vandalized FBI job site and what the group said was information on roughly 5,000 agents it said was a sample of the overall stolen data set. JOB SITE DISRUPTION Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the screenshot, but the job site did appear to have experienced recent disruption. A message posted to the site on Tuesday said that both it and the FBI "Special Agent Applicant Portal" were "currently unavailable." The data sample appeared to contain information about FBI agents' names, home addresses, Social Security numbers, their assignments and, in at least some cases, the names of their family members. Reuters was able to partially verify the authenticity of the information by running the details, including the Social Security numbers, against credit bureau records and previously breached data preserved by the dark-web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. In at least 10 instances - including in the case of FBI Director Kash Patel - Reuters found details that appeared to match. A person familiar with the matter said that the job descriptions in the data also matched in at least some cases. However, the news agency could not establish where the data came from, or whether it had been stolen from the FBI's internal systems as the hackers claimed. Attempts to reach the people whose details were in the sample data were unsuccessful. PAST THEFTS WERE HARMFUL Cynthia Kaiser, a former FBI official, said breaches like the ones claimed by ShinyHunters were "incredibly harmful" because they could be used by criminals to expose and put pressure on the people investigating them. Kaiser, now senior vice president at cybersecurity firm Halcyon, noted that an old leak dating back to 2016 was still occasionally used today to harass FBI agents. "Once that information is stolen, it is used forever," she said. ShinyHunters is one of the world's most notorious and attention-seeking hacking crews. Its recent break-ins include the purported theft of millions of business records from video game developer Rockstar Games, the maker of "Grand Theft Auto," and a May intrusion centered on education tool Canvas that caused widespread disruption across US schools. Earlier this month, AI company Anthropic said it had caught ShinyHunters-linked hackers trying to use its tools. On Sunday, the group told Reuters it had gone to war against another notorious cybercrime group, cl0p, in a rare bout of public score-settling.

Rockstar has already killed GTA 6's modding scene before release. Published Sep 20, 2026, 8:38 PM EDT Steven is a seasoned writer specializing in the video game and technological fields, with years of experience creating reviews, features, and industry analysis. Passionate about the gaming world and its evolving culture, Steven has always wanted to combine his enjoyment of writing and love for gaming in a way that can provide insightful coverage for players and enthusiasts alike. Grand Theft Auto 6 is still undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of all time, but with each update that manages to blow players away with what the next generation of the series has in store, another downside seems to come alongside it. Even though GTA 6 will still sell an unprecedented number of copies, its controversial premium editions and physical release are causing players to start growing wary of GTA 6 before its official release. As if these weren't bad enough, Rockstar's latest official announcement regarding the studio's stance on modding is one of the most concerning updates yet when it comes to its post-launch lifespan. Rockstar's is cracking down on mods for GTA 6. As noted by TheNathanNS on X, Rockstar has recently released a community resource guide when it comes to what mods they'll be permitting for all games, including Grand Theft Auto 6, which already has players rioting over how incredibly strict it is. From preventing mod monetization to intellectual property arguments, the following are the biggest takeaways from GTA 6's modding rules: * Do not use or reuse any content from any of Rockstar's games in another * Do not modify or add more content on official stories or characters from a Rockstar game * Do not modify games to operate on hardware not officially released by Rockstar Games * Do not create or share cheats for official multiplayer services * Do not use any protected or intellectual property of any kind in modded creations, including characters, brands, music etc. * Do not recreate any real-life locations, or use the appearances or voices of real people * Do not engage in unauthorized or abusive modding monetization Although some of the rules are a bit more understandable than others, like banning multiplayer cheats or cracking down on players trying to advertise themselves as official Rockstar partners, the current rules would prevent a vast number of fan-favorite creations across the series from ever having existed in the first place. While you could simply wave these concerns away with other franchises as simply GTA 6 washing its hands of any legal liability by saying they don't endorse the content, Rockstar has an incredibly controversial history of shutting down large-scale modding projects and going after creators attempting to even touch some of these concepts. Mods like these kept GTA 5 alive for decades. While these changes won't be too impactful for the console-only release of GTA 6, mods are an essential part of the PC experience that played a significant role in keeping Rockstar's other open-world games alive for so long. Some of these rules are already harming Rockstar's current releases, with the studio shutting down projects that try to restore GTA 5's cut content that Rockstar never even bothered to release. Aside from putting a stop to countless creations that have become so iconic in the franchise, these restrictions would have eliminated the very things that Rockstar is currently profiting off of when it comes to GTA 5's NoPixel roleplay servers, which originally started as a massive modding initiative. Despite not outright banning all modified game files, these restrictions are still a major concern when it comes to the future of the game as a whole, being just as harmful to Rockstar themselves when it comes to the lifespan of future entries as the modding communities that pour so much time and effort into their creations.

GTA Online confirmed to be supported beyond the release of GTA 6. Take-Two has made it clear that they intend to support GTA Online even beyond the release of the upcoming GTA 6, as a full quote (via Reset Era forums) from the recent Take-Two shareholder meeting says: "GTA 6 is a single-player title and is due to release this November. We will continue to support GTA Online after GTA VI release and beyond." It was already confirmed that GTA 6 is going to be a single-player-only title when it comes out this year, and will continue to stay that way for a while, at least a full year from it's release. So even after GTA 6 comes out, if you crave for some multiplayer action, GTA Online is still your go-to fix, until Rockstar releases the full-blown multiplayer component for GTA 6 which may take a while. Also, according to Twitch boss Dan Clancy, GTA 6 Online may come out as early as next year as in a recent interview with Bloomberg, he revealed some of Rockstar's plans after GTA 6 comes out: "We spent a lot of time talking with Rockstar about their plans, and also helping them think about how they can engage our creators," Clancy said. "You are going to see this big bump with GTA 6, but then an even bigger one next year when they launch multiplayer." Even in it's purely single-player experience, GTA 6 is going to be one of the 'forever, endless games' that will keep you hooked for thousands of hours easily, it's basically the open world game to end all open world games. Also, during the recent shareholders meeting, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick answered whether the shortage of consoles has affected the company's plans for the PC, to which he replied: "The strategy of the company is, over time, generally speaking, to launch for any platforms for which there's a meaningful audience," Zelnick replied, keeping his cards close to his chest. "But that isn't always the case, and certainly, if platforms were no longer viable, Infinite Start LLC could change that strategy. "And I would note that the PC platform is becoming more and more important to our company over time." GTA 6 is currently slated to launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, 2026. Shouvik Bose became fascinated with Videogames at an early age, he loves playing and writing about what he plays. He enjoys the whole craft of writing as much as playing, and feels that both are forms of Art by themselves. Primarily a PC gamer, he loves games that excel at gameplay and replayability. * Trending * Comments * Latest