What drives the hackers behind ShinyHunters? | CBC News
ShinyHunters claims it stole a large collection of FBI information, including staff assignments, addresses and Social Security numbers. The FBI is investigating, and its FBIJobs.gov site remained unavailable on Thursday afternoon.
The group has been associated with dozens of attacks on major organizations. In May, a strike on Canvas, a widely used education platform, disrupted universities around the world, including in Canada.
The group says it is not seeking payment for the FBI data. A former FBI cyber official described the stolen material as highly valuable to foreign intelligence, underscoring the potential sensitivity of the breach.
Cynthia Kaiser, who leads Halcyon’s Ransomware Research Center and formerly worked in the FBI’s cyber division, said members appear to be teenagers or behave like them. She noted attacks on the FBI and rival gang Cl0P in the same week and suggested the activity could lead to the group’s undoing.
A former member, French citizen Sebastien Raoult, was arrested in Morocco in 2022 and later extradited to the United States. In 2024, he received a three-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay more than $5 million in restitution for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Experts also point to the group’s apparent English fluency as a distinction from some Russian-speaking ransomware crews.
Key points
- The FBI is investigating the alleged theft, and FBIJobs.gov remained offline Thursday afternoon.
- ShinyHunters has been linked to dozens of attacks, including a Canvas breach affecting universities worldwide.
- Former member Sebastien Raoult was sentenced in 2024 and ordered to pay over $5 million in restitution.