The ShinyHunters are a large, organized cybercrime organization that targets major corporations and government agencies with hacking and data theft attacks. They have been in operation, as far as we know, since 2019, and recently, they hit the FBIJobs operations, which are managed by a third-party vendor. So far, at least one co-conspirator involved in the hack has been arrested.
On Friday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest of another ShinyHunter conspirator.
🚨 Our agents in the field have arrested another suspected co-conspirator of the ShinyHunters group – the group believed to be responsible for the recent https://t.co/roAqMij0cN incident, which occurred on a platform managed by a third-party vendor. This is the latest arrest this FBI has made in a matter of days involving this network, as we work non-stop to dismantle the group, pursue new leads and evidence, and act quickly. This arrest demonstrates the strength and reach of our efforts to protect Americans from cybercrime. We will continue to work closely with our partners to disrupt what’s left of the ShinyHunters group and their associates, no matter where they operate.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 9, 2026
Director Patel writes:
Our agents in the field have arrested another suspected co-conspirator of the ShinyHunters group – the group believed to be responsible for the recent http://FBIjobs.gov incident, which occurred on a platform managed by a third-party vendor.
This is the latest arrest this FBI has made in a matter of days involving this network, as we work non-stop to dismantle the group, pursue new leads and evidence, and act quickly.
This arrest demonstrates the strength and reach of our efforts to protect Americans from cybercrime.
We will continue to work closely with our partners to disrupt what’s left of the ShinyHunters group and their associates, no matter where they operate.
This isn't the first arrest of one of these cybercriminals. As of this writing, the name of the conspirator hasn't been released. An Associated Press release reports on a possible response by the group:
In a message taking responsibility for the hack and announcing the collection of sensitive information, ShinyHunters said it had taken action over false allegations contained in an FBI public advisory from May that described the organization as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.”
See previous RedState coverage of the group and their activities here and here.
The rise of the internet has changed everything in one short lifetime, from how we conduct business to how we entertain ourselves to how we wage war. Unfortunately, with every silver lining comes a big old cloud, and groups like ShinyHunters are and always will be one of the clouds hanging over this world-changing technology.
Here's the interesting bit: the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) may well have speed-boosted the efforts of the hackers. The question is, are the FBI and any other agencies and corporations using it to find any possible gaps and close them? That kind of puts an interesting new wrinkle in this whole thing.
It's a safe bet that the FBI is putting the squeeze on the two ShinyHunters conspirators they have in custody; with a bit of luck, one or both of the pasty basement-dwellers will cut a deal that involves selling out the rest of the network, allowing the FBI to roll them up like cheap carpet. But here's the thing: While that would be a win, it would only be a won battle. This is the kind of thing that corporations and governments will be dealing with as long as there is an internet.