FBI declares ‘cyber security incident’ after agents’ personal data is stolen

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly told its agents and support staff that their personal information was stolen in a recent cyberattack targeting the bureau’s job application portal. It is the first time the bureau has acknowledged that the data of serving agents was taken.

Publicly, the FBI has yet to confirm a breach. Last week it said only that it was aware a hacking group had claimed an attack, but that the theft of data remained “still undetermined.” According to reporter Ken Dilanian, the FBI has since declared a “cyber security incident” in an internal notice, warning employees that their names, addresses, job titles, and Social Security numbers were exposed.

What was taken

Several outlets have confirmed that the stolen data also included medical information — records relating to blood and urine samples, as well as psychiatric reports. A group calling itself ShinyHunters previously told TechCrunch it has data on “mostly all of FBI” and a “substantial” amount of information on applicants who used the FBIJobs.gov portal.

The intrusion was possible through a vulnerability in an Oracle PeopleSoft server that hosts the HR records. Notably, the hackers are not after a financial ransom: they are demanding the correction of an earlier FBI report that they say misrepresents their activities.

A ‘counterintelligence disaster’

National security expert Justin Sherman called the breach a “counterintelligence disaster” for the U.S. government, warning that the theft would expose thousands of FBI personnel to profiling, phishing, and foreign intelligence approaches.

It is unclear whether the bureau has notified Congress. Under federal law, lawmakers must be alerted when an incident meets the bar of a “major incident” — for instance, when stolen personal data is “likely to result in demonstrable harm” to national security. Bureau lawyers are likely weighing that question now. If disclosure is required, it would be the FBI’s second such notification this year, after hackers suspected to be Chinese broke into a surveillance system exposing targets of FBI investigations.

The job portal has, per ABC News, been the primary way to apply to the bureau since 2017. It remained offline at the time of publication.

Source: TechCrunch