Get you up to speed: Suspected ShinyHunters hacker detained in Jordan, cooperating with FBI, sources say
Jordanian authorities detained Saif al-Din Khader this week, a suspected member of the ShinyHunters hacking group, who is cooperating with investigators. The FBI continues its investigation into the group’s alleged cyber activities.
Saif al-Din Khader’s detention in Jordan marks a significant development as investigations continue into ShinyHunters’ alleged cyber activities. Consequently, the FBI is pursuing an aggressive investigation into the hacking incident, having already collaborated with international partners to arrest multiple suspects.
U.S. officials confirmed that Saif al-Din Khader, a suspected member of ShinyHunters, is cooperating with investigators following his detention in Jordan. The FBI has stated it will “spare no resource” in its pursuit of those responsible for the cyber incidents, with ongoing investigations likely to include further arrests.
What remains unclear — It is not known how many additional alleged hackers may be involved with ShinyHunters.
Suspected ShinyHunters hacker detained in Jordan and cooperating with FBI
A suspected member of ShinyHunters, the hacking group that claimed responsibility last month for defacing the FBI’s website, was detained in Jordan this week and is cooperating with the investigators, according to U.S. officials.
Jordanian authorities detained Saif al-Din Khader this week, according to two U.S. officials and another source with knowledge of the matter.
ShinyHunters, a notorious cybercrime group, has claimed responsibility for a series of high-profile data breaches and has asserted, without public verification, that it obtained data on every FBI employee. It is unclear how many other alleged hackers may be involved, a U.S. source told WTX US News.
The FBI declined to comment on the arrest but said in a statement that “the Bureau continues to aggressively investigate the recent Cyber incident allegedly involving ShinyHunters, having already worked with partners to arrest multiple subjects and we will spare no resource in bringing each of the responsible individuals to justice.”
The arrest was first reported by Reuters.
Last month, ShinyHunters claimed in communications posted on the dark web and exchanges with multiple media outlets that it stole 2 to 3 terabytes of data related to FBI workers. The hackers claimed to have used a new vulnerability with Oracle PeopleSoft, a human resources management program.
A second suspected member of the group, identified as a 24-year-old from Amsterdam, was arrested on Sept. 15 on suspicion of being a member of ShinyHunters, Dutch National Police and the FBI previously reported. That means he was already in custody days before ShinyHunters announced it had hacked the FBI jobs website, which was first reported on Sept. 22 by 404 Media.
Dutch police did not identify the suspect by name, but sources familiar with the case confirmed to WTX US News that the man is Pepijn van der Stap.
In a statement to Reuters, ShinyHunters said Van der Stap had “no association” with the group and that Dutch police were incompetent.