Dutch Police Arrest ShinyHunters Suspect Allegedly Linked to Planned Murders
The FBI and Dutch law enforcement have arrested a member of the ShinyHunters hacking group, an outfit the agencies hold responsible for breaches at more than 140 organizations worldwide. The group also recently claimed responsibility for an intrusion into the FBI's own systems.
Brett Leathermann, who leads the FBI's cyber division, said in a video message on Tuesday that Dutch authorities had arrested one of the "alleged leaders of ShinyHunters." Leathermann added that the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit "moved quickly to protect victims and preserve critical evidence," and vowed the bureau would pursue the remaining members of the group following the arrest.
In a separate statement, Dutch police confirmed that an unnamed 24-year-old man from Amsterdam was arrested under Dutch law on September 15. He was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday and has been remanded into custody for at least 90 days.
Police say the man was arrested for "participating in a criminal organization"—namely, ShinyHunters.
Murder Plot Investigation
Following the arrest and the seizure of his devices, police said "a lot of information was found on his laptop, including about two murders that should be committed abroad." As a result, he is also being investigated for attempting to orchestrate those murders. Dutch authorities said this line of inquiry is "separate from the investigation into ShinyHunters."
What Is ShinyHunters?
ShinyHunters is a cybercriminal gang accused of hacking into companies to steal troves of data and then threatening to publish it unless victims pay a ransom. Dutch authorities say the group is accused of data breaches at Pornhub, Ticketmaster, and U.S. telecom giant AT&T. The group also took responsibility for a breach at Dutch phone provider Odido. However, authorities said the man in custody was not arrested in connection with the Odido hack.
Suspect Identified in Media Reports
Independent security journalist Brian Krebs, who was first to report the arrest, and other outlets have named the suspect as Pepijn van der Stap, whom Bloomberg profiled in 2024 as a cybersecurity researcher who also moonlighted as a criminal hacker extorting companies.
According to recent reporting by Bloomberg and Reuters, Van der Stap was arrested earlier this month at the offices of Neo Security, where he serves as chief technology officer. The raid reportedly involved flash-bang grenades.
A representative for Neo Security did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. When asked by TechCrunch, a representative of the ShinyHunters group said Van der Stap "has no association with us."
FBI Data Breach Claim
News of the arrest comes days after the FBI reportedly told its own agents and employees that their personal information—including names, addresses, job titles, and Social Security numbers—was exposed in a "cyber security incident." The FBI has not yet publicly confirmed a breach, but the ShinyHunters gang said it obtained personal and sensitive data belonging to "mostly all" of the FBI's agents and applicants by breaching its careers website and job application portal.
via TechCrunch