Dutch police arrest suspected ShinyHunters hacker ahead of FBI data leak claims

An FBI agent stands near a security point

Dutch police have taken a 24‑year‑old man from Amsterdam into custody following an online claim that the ShinyHunters gang had infiltrated every officer’s personal data at the FBI.

The group said it held names, badge numbers, home addresses and phone numbers for some 38,000 FBI employees, a figure the bureau said was impossible to fabricate.

Police say the suspect was arrested on 15 September and that it seized a laptop that held large amounts of data and plans for murders overseas, evidence that police say the man may have ordered.

The FBI’s director Kash Patel tweeted thanks to Dutch partners and said U.S. teams were now pursuing fresh leads spurred by the arrest.

ShinyHunters is a French‑born collective that has targeted high‑profile firms such as Rockstar Games and the Canvas education platform, and recently claimed a vulnerability in Oracle’s cloud storage that exposed several FBI systems.

ShinyHunters accused the agency of offending it with a May advisory and demanded a retraction, but the FBI has called the hackers threat actors who prey on leaked data.

The Dutch investigation remains open, with officials not ruling out further arrests as the collaboration between Dutch and U.S. authorities deepens.