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Dutch police confirmed on Tuesday, September 29, that a 24-year-old Amsterdam man arrested on September 15 is suspected of belonging to ShinyHunters, the extortion gang that claimed a breach of the FBI's own systems this month. Investigators also say his laptop held information about two murders that were meant to be carried out abroad, TechCrunch reported.
The man was due in court on Tuesday and has been remanded in custody for at least 90 days. Police said he is held on suspicion of participating in a criminal organization. He is also under investigation for attempting to orchestrate the two killings, which Dutch authorities said is a separate inquiry from the hacking case.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the suspect as one of the group's alleged leaders and said bureau teams were working new leads generated by the arrest, CBS News reported. The FBI's cyber division credited the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit with moving quickly to protect victims and preserve evidence, and said it would pursue the rest of the group.
Dutch police have not named the man. TechCrunch and other outlets, following reporting first published by security journalist Brian Krebs, have identified him as Pepijn van der Stap. According to Bloomberg and Reuters reporting cited by TechCrunch, he worked as chief technology officer of Neo Security and was detained at the firm's offices in a raid that reportedly involved flash-bang grenades. A representative of ShinyHunters told TechCrunch he has no link to the group.
The FBI and Dutch authorities say ShinyHunters is behind hacks at more than 140 organizations worldwide. The gang steals data and threatens to publish it unless victims pay. Dutch authorities tied it to breaches at Ticketmaster, AT&T and Pornhub. The group also claimed a breach at Dutch phone provider Odido, though police said the arrested man is not held in connection with that attack.
The arrest follows the group's claim, which we reported on September 22, that it had stolen two to three terabytes of data on FBI and Justice Department staff and job applicants. The hackers said they used a new flaw in Oracle PeopleSoft. The FBI has reportedly told employees that names, home addresses, job titles and Social Security numbers were exposed. The bureau said its investigation into the FBIJobs.gov incident is ongoing and that it is in regular contact with people who may be affected.
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