'We know how to find you': FBI official tells ShinyHunters hacker group to get in touch with agency

In a video address posted to X on Tuesday, FBI Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said the recent arrest of a Dutch man in connection with the ShinyHunters investigation should serve as a warning.

A senior FBI official made an unusually public request to the hacking group ShinyHunters, telling the cybercriminals on Tuesday to get in touch after a wide-ranging breach of the bureau's job site.

In a video address posted to X on Tuesday, FBI Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said the recent arrest of a Dutch man in connection with the ShinyHunters investigation should serve as a warning.

"Other groups believed anonymity or their friends would protect them, and they were wrong," said Leatherman, who leads the FBI's Cyber Division. "You know how to find us, and we know how to find you. I suggest you reach out first while the choice is still yours."

Hack compromised FBI staff's sensitive data

Although couched as a threat, Leatherman's request to open a channel of communication between law enforcement and the hackers is the latest indication of just how seriously the bureau is taking the breach, which has compromised sensitive medical records, Social Security numbers, family information, and intelligence-related details of named FBI staffers.

An internal memo distributed across the FBI said officials were operating under the assumption that every employee had been exposed, Reuters has previously reported.

ShinyHunters did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The group initially gave the bureau a week to retract an advisory about the hackers that ShinyHunters objected to, a period that expired on Tuesday. The hackers have since said the ultimatum was not a deadline or a threat and they had no intention of publishing the data.

"This was all a marketing campaign," the group said on Monday.

ShinyHunters suspect also investigated for alleged murder orders

Separately, a 24-year-old man arrested earlier this week as part of an investigation into the hacking group ShinyHunters is also being investigated over allegations that he ordered two murders abroad.

Police did not immediately confirm the reports.

Information about the alleged murder plots was reportedly found on the suspect's laptop, Dutch news agency ANP reported. It was not clear whether the murders he allegedly ordered actually took place. The allegations are separate from the investigation into ShinyHunters.

Although Dutch authorities have not publicly identified the man, his former employer, Amsterdam-based cybersecurity company Neo Security, said his name is Pepijn van der Stap.

Reuters has not been able to reach Van der Stap or identify a lawyer or representative.

He was arrested in a dramatic police raid amid escalating concern over ShinyHunters, a hacking group known ​for large-scale data breaches and extortion, and its recent theft of what it said was terabytes of sensitive personnel data from US FBI servers.

At least some of the data includes employees' intelligence assignments and medical records, Reuters has reported.

ShinyHunters has said Van der Stap had "no association" with the group.