FBI Says Contractor’s Failure to Apply Patch Led to ShinyHunters Breach
Summary
The FBI says a contractor failed to apply a security patch to a third-party platform, contributing to a breach that exposed personal information of thousands of bureau employees. ShinyHunters claimed responsibility.
Key points
- The FBI says its review found the breach resulted from a contractor’s failure to apply a security patch to a third-party-managed platform.
- Reuters sources identified the affected system as Oracle PeopleSoft and the outside organization as Accenture; the FBI has not publicly named them.
- The breach exposed personal information of thousands of FBI employees, and ShinyHunters claimed it obtained data from the bureau’s jobs website.
- The FBI removed the contractor and said it took steps to mitigate further risk and protect its workforce.
- ShinyHunters reportedly claimed the attack was intended to pressure the FBI over a report warning organizations about the group.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- FBI
- Incident Type
- Data breach reportedly involving exploitation of an unpatched Oracle PeopleSoft human resources platform
- Data Types Exposed
- Personal information
- Sensitive employee information
- Affected Records
- Thousands of FBI employees were reportedly affected; ShinyHunters claimed it obtained information on all employees.
- Operational Impact
- The FBI removed the contractor responsible for the affected system and said it took steps to mitigate further risk and protect its workforce.
- Ransom Or Extortion
- ShinyHunters threatened to leak data unless victims paid. The article says some information was leaked to the media, but does not confirm that payment was made.
- Claim Status
- confirmed
People
Brett LeathermanFBI cyber chief who said the bureau's review found that the incident resulted from a contractor's failure to apply a security patch.Saif al-Din KhaderIdentified in the article as an alleged ShinyHunters leader, also known as Rey; reportedly arrested in Jordan and cooperating with authorities.
Threat Actors
Vendors
AccentureThe FBI has removed an Accenture contractor over a data breach that exposed personal information of thousands of bureau employees, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.OracleAccording to Reuters’ sources, the system in question is Oracle’s PeopleSoft human resources platform, and the outside organization is Accenture.