Dutch Police Arrest Suspected ShinyHunters Member, Court Orders 90-Day Detention

Dutch police have arrested a 24-year-old man from Amsterdam on suspicion of involvement with the ShinyHunters hacker group, which has been linked to a series of major data breaches. The man was taken into custody on Sept. 15 and is also suspected of attempted solicitation of two murders, authorities said Tuesday.

According to the police, the murder solicitation suspicion stems from information discovered on the suspect's laptop but is not connected to the ShinyHunters investigation. Detectives seized data storage devices during the probe and are examining their contents. Police said they have not ruled out further arrests.

The arrest was announced as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for breaching the FBI's jobs website. The group said it had stolen "very sensitive data" belonging to thousands of agents and applicants and that it had compromised the bureau's jobs portal. The claims could not be immediately verified.

FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted the arrest in a post on X, saying the FBI and Dutch National Police were announcing the detention of one of the alleged leaders of ShinyHunters, described as a global cybercrime and threat actor group linked to attacks in the United States, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. He said the Dutch High-Tech Crime Unit made the arrest under Dutch law in coordination with FBI investigators, and that FBI teams were actively pursuing further leads based on the arrest.

The Dutch police statement announcing the arrest did not mention the FBI hack or coordination with American law enforcement. Stan Duijf, the Dutch police official responsible for tackling cybercrime, said arresting cybercrime suspects is a key intervention in the broad fight against such crime, adding that ShinyHunters is responsible for a large number of victims in the Netherlands and abroad.

A court in Rotterdam on Tuesday ordered the suspect held for a further 90 days. Last Wednesday, the FBI said it was "actively and aggressively investigating" the claimed hack of the FBIJobs.gov portal. A message circulating online from ShinyHunters claimed responsibility and said the group would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it called false allegations in a May FBI public advisory that described the organization as a cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.