Washington — The FBI this week arrested another individual suspected of being linked to ShinyHunters, the cybercriminal group that hacked office job site and stole personal data about its employees, FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday.
“This is the latest arrest the FBI has made in days regarding this network, as we work around the clock to dismantle the group, pursue new leads and evidence, and act quickly,” Patel said in a statement. “This arrest demonstrates the strength and scope of our efforts to protect Americans from cybercrime.”
The FBI provided no additional details on the individual’s identity or where the arrest was made, but a U.S. official and another source briefed on the matter told CBS News the suspect was being held in Pennsylvania.
A police source said the suspect is a Canadian citizen and is believed to be directly involved in the hacking of the FBI website. This source said other alleged co-conspirators remain at large.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details relating to law enforcement that have not been made public.
The New York Times reported earlier Friday that the suspect was arrested in Pennsylvania on suspicion of involvement in the theft of FBI data.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the details presented in the New York Times report.
In a statement to CBS News, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it “is aware of the arrest of a Canadian in the United States in connection with the ShinyHunters hack. The RCMP does not comment on investigations by other countries.”
CBS News has reached out to other Canadian authorities for comment.
The FBI’s employment website was hacked in September, in what some veteran agents say could be the worst breach of a federal government system since the infamous hack of the personnel management system in 2015, when more than 22 million government records were stolen.
ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the FBI hack, the latest in a series of high-profile data breaches by the notorious group.
The hackers said they stole 2 to 3 terabytes of data related to FBI employees, an exploit they accomplished thanks to a new vulnerability in Oracle PeopleSoft, a human resources management program.
Earlier this week, FBI Cyber Division Deputy Director Brett Leatherman announced that following a review, the bureau determined that a contractor failed to implement a security patch on the targeted system.
“The FBI terminated the contractor and took all necessary steps to mitigate any additional risk and protect our personnel,” Leatherman said in a statement.
Reuters was the first to report the contractor’s dismissal, saying the individual worked for the company Accenture.
The arrest announced Friday is the latest in a series of arrests of suspects believed to be linked to ShinyHunters.
On Sunday, CBS News reported that Jordanian authorities arrested Saif al-Din Khader, who uses the online nickname “Rey” and is suspected of being involved with ShinyHunters.
A second suspected member of the group, identified as Pepijn van der Stap, 24, was also arrested in Amsterdam, CBS News previously reported.
However, he was arrested on September 15, meaning he was already in custody days before ShinyHunters announced that he had hacked the FBI employment website. The intrusion was first reported on September 22 by 404 Media.
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