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FBI investigates breach of jobs website as hackers claim ‘very sensitive data’ stolen

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The FBI is investigating an apparent breach of its jobs website as a criminal hacking group claimed to have accessed “very sensitive data” on nearly all agents and job applicants.

“The FBI is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating,” the bureau said in a statement. The website, the main portal for prospective employees to learn about the FBI and initiate the application process, remained offline Wednesday morning.

A message that circulated online from a hacking group known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the hack.

The message, directed to FBI director Kash Patel as well as the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s cyber division, said the hacking group had “compromised very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job”.

The claims could not immediately be verified, and an FBI spokesperson declined to comment further. An email to an address associated with the organization was not immediately returned.

In its message, ShinyHunters said it would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it says are false allegations in an FBI public service announcement from May that described the organization as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion”.

That announcement characterized ShinyHunters as “threat actors” who often “use their real or exaggerated claims of access to sensitive or personal information to prompt payment from victims”, commonly harass or threaten victims and “may falsely claim to have sensitive or compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos of victims, which frequently do not exist”.

ShinyHunters said in its message to the FBI that it was “offended” by those characterizations and demanded that the FBI remove those claims.

The FBI has been a common hacking target.

In March, the agency disclosed that it was investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. Also that month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have hacked an account of Patel’s and posted online what appear to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work résumé and other personal documents dating back more than a decade.

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Hackers Say They Stole Thousands of Sensitive F.B.I. Personnel Records

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The compromise, if confirmed, would be the latest in a string of cybersecurity failures at the F.B.I., which said it was investigating the matter.

A prolific criminal hacking group said it had stolen the data from an online jobs portal for the F.B.I.Credit...Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

Dustin Volz

Dustin Volz covers cybersecurity and intelligence and has reported extensively on multiple major hacks of sensitive data at the F.B.I. He reported from Washington.

A prolific criminal hacking group said Tuesday that it had stolen a large tranche of sensitive personnel information belonging to thousands of F.B.I. officials in what would amount to a stunning breach of private data for the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

The hackers, who call themselves ShinyHunters, said the records were stolen from an online jobs portal for the bureau and included names of current and former agents as well as applicants and corresponding home addresses, phone numbers, names of spouses, certain medical information and other data. The group does not appear to have yet leaked any of the data publicly.

“We have compromised the FBI,” the group said in a message posted online that was addressed to the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, and Brett Leatherman, who oversees the bureau’s cybersecurity division. “We hold very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job.”

In its message, ShinyHunters said it had targeted the F.B.I. as retribution for a public advisory the bureau issued in the spring warning about the group’s tactics. The group demanded the F.B.I. “correct or simply REMOVE” the advisory, which said ShinyHunters was known to harass victims and family members with threatening or coercive maneuvers, and do so within a week or risk further consequences.

An F.B.I. spokeswoman acknowledged the breach, saying that the bureau was aware of the claims and that it was investigating. In a statement, the bureau said, “While the point of breach is still undetermined — whether a third-party or the F.B.I.’s enterprise — we are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk.”

The jobs website remained inaccessible Wednesday morning after its homepage a day earlier featured a banner that read, “THIS SITE HAS BEEN SEIZED BY SHINYHUNTERS.”

In an exchange with The New York Times, ShinyHunters described the personnel records it had, stating they concerned the private information of tens of thousands of people. News of the apparent hacking was reported earlier by 404 Media, an online cybersecurity and technology news publication.

Current and former F.B.I. officials and cybersecurity experts who track criminal groups said that the breach appeared authentic and that it amounted to a potentially devastating security lapse and counterintelligence danger for the bureau. Among other concerns, the personnel information of F.B.I. officials, if posted on the dark web, could be acquired by foreign intelligence agencies in China, Russia or elsewhere and weaponized for espionage operations.

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Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, had his personal emails hacked and leaked in March by a pro-Iranian group.Credit...Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

“If true, this data breach is a reminder that no one is immune from cyberthreats and, unfortunately, it raises serious public safety and counterintelligence risks,” said Sumon Dantiki, a partner at the law firm Baker McKenzie and former senior F.B.I. and Justice Department official who worked on cybersecurity issues.

A more tangible concern is that the data could also be a road map for violent criminals to seek retribution against the F.B.I. agents who put them behind bars, said Cynthia Kaiser, a former senior F.B.I. official who oversaw major cyberinvestigations. F.B.I. agents sign their names to court paperwork submitted against criminal suspects but are generally trained to avoid letting sensitive personal information, such as home addresses or familial ties, easily surface online.

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“What worries me most is how any criminal with a grudge could use this data to target and physically harm not only the F.B.I. agents who investigated them, but also those agents’ families,” Ms. Kaiser said.

ShinyHunters is a well-known hacking collective that has been active for years and has claimed a string of major headline-grabbing breaches, though security researchers say the group has at times exaggerated or misrepresented its actions. It credibly takes responsibility for several notable hacks, however.

In May, it said it had compromised an online learning system called Canvas that is used by thousands of schools and universities around the world, which led to the spring F.B.I. advisory. The group also said it was behind attacks against Ticketmaster in 2024, which the hackers said had compromised the user information of more than 500 million customers.

The apparent F.B.I. breach called to mind the vast theft more than a decade ago of about 20 million government employee and contractor records from the Office of Personnel Management. That heist, which the Obama administration blamed on the Chinese government, is still considered one of the worst cybersecurity failures on record in the United States. As a result, government agencies strove to better protect and disaggregate sensitive data in an attempt to avoid future thefts of such richly detailed databases.

Given the O.P.M. debacle, former F.B.I. officials said they were stunned to learn that such valuable — and voluminous — private information about bureau personnel appeared to be held in an online database tied to a jobs portal.

The ShinyHunters breach would be just the latest in a recent string of cybersecurity lapses for the F.B.I. Earlier this year, the bureau identified what it believed were Chinese hackers inside a database it maintains on its domestic surveillance orders. That discovery was especially alarming because Beijing appeared to be building on a catastrophic infiltration of the F.B.I.’s internal network used to process and maintain domestic wiretaps on criminal suspects, which was part of a far-reaching espionage campaign that officials first disclosed in 2024 that infiltrated U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.

Mr. Patel, too, had his personal emails hacked and leaked in March by a pro-Iranian hacktivist group associated with the country’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

In the most recent episode, ShinyHunters said it had weaponized a zero-day, or previously undiscovered, computer bug within the Oracle PeopleSoft software, an application that companies use for human resources and financial management. The group declined to answer specific questions about the apparent flaw, saying in an email that “we intend to utilise the zero-day for our businesses’ normal operations.” Oracle did not respond to a request for comment.

It was not clear what ShinyHunters, which said it had made off with two to three terabytes of data in total, intended to do should the F.B.I. not retract its advisory about the group. Flashpoint, a cybersecurity company in the United States, said it expected the hackers would likely follow their playbook against corporate victims and soon leak the stolen data online.

“We cannot comment on what we will do if the F.B.I. does not comply with our request,” ShinyHunters said in its email to The Times. “We reiterate we are not extorting the F.B.I. and this is NOT financially motivated.”

The hackers added: “Our intention, goal and motive is solely to set the record straight.”

Tawnell D. Hobbs contributed reporting.

Dustin Volz writes about cybersecurity and intelligence for The Times. He is based in Washington.

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Russia-Ukraine Conflict News Review -Gemini

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Here is a review of the key developments in the Russia-Ukraine war for today, September 23, 2026:


Aerial Warfare and Battlefield Developments

  • Daylight Strikes on Kyiv: Russia launched daytime drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital hours before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scheduled address to the UN General Assembly. The strikes hit a business center and other facilities, killing at least two people and wounding 23.


  • Black Sea Cargo Ship Attacked: Russian forces attacked a cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Black Sea. The attack killed the ship's captain, a Ukrainian citizen, and sparked a fire, forcing the crew to evacuate.


  • Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Energy: Ukraine continued its campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian special forces reported successful overnight strikes on oil refineries in Russia's Samara (Kuibyshev) and Bashkortostan regions. Additionally, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces claimed to have hit 38 electrical substations in Russia and occupied territories under "Operation Crimean Switch Off".


  • Frontline Clashes: The Ukrainian General Staff reported 247 combat engagements over the past 24 hours, noting that the fiercest fighting remains concentrated in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka sectors.


Diplomatic Front at the UN General Assembly

  • Zelenskyy Meets Trump: President Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly. Zelenskyy is seeking stronger commitments to secure Black Sea grain shipments and is requesting more US-made Patriot air defense systems to shield against ongoing bombardment. Reports indicate Trump provided no concrete answer regarding the provision of additional Patriot systems, which are currently in short supply due to competing global conflicts.


  • Japanese Support: Zelenskyy also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, securing reaffirmations of Japan's continued support for Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict.


Broader Geopolitics and Sanctions

  • New US Sanctions on Russian Energy: President Trump signed the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026" into law. The legislation grants the US administration the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are top purchasers of Russian oil and gas, potentially putting major buyers like India and China in the crosshairs.


  • Russia-Iran Strategic Planning: A leaked non-public Russian government document revealed efforts by Moscow to build a broad, sanctions-proof economic partnership with Iran. The roadmap outlines plans to bypass Western financial networks by expanding trade in national currencies, developing central bank digital currencies, and creating independent financial messaging systems.

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Gemini News Review

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UN General Assembly & Global Geopolitics

  • Trump and Zelenskyy at the UN: President Donald Trump is attending the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on an energy ceasefire. This comes as global diesel prices surge amidst the ongoing US conflict with Iran and Russia's war in Ukraine.


  • Overnight Strikes in Ukraine: As world leaders gathered for the summit, Russian overnight missile and drone barrages across several Ukrainian regions killed at least three people.


  • US Base Expansion in Greenland: Trump announced plans to construct two "very major" US military bases in Greenland.


  • Iran Diplomacy: Trump indicated during the assembly that a diplomatic deal with Iran is likely following the US midterm elections.


  • Yemen Conflict: Houthi forces are moving to seize strategic mountainous terrain in Yemen following reports that the US called off planned airstrikes against the group at the last minute.


  • Drone Tech Proliferation: A US intelligence assessment warns that Latin American drug cartels are making alarming technological advances in drone warfare, a shift fueled by fighters returning from the Russia-Ukraine war.


US Politics & Domestic News

  • Media Blackout Protest: Major television networks have suspended their video coverage of President Trump in response to the White House banning reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. The banned outlets have subsequently filed a lawsuit.


  • ICE Detainee Tracking Halted: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has unannouncedly stopped publicly sharing the locations of thousands of detainees with final deportation orders, significantly hindering lawyers and family members from locating them.


  • 2028 GOP Maneuvering: Early political moves are already underway within the Republican party as potential contenders prepare to challenge Vice President JD Vance for the 2028 presidential nomination.


  • Senate Challenges: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has refused to rule out a potential primary run against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.


Additional Headlines

  • Hurricane Polo: The storm has intensified into a Category 5 hurricane off the coast of Mexico, threatening the region with life-threatening flooding.


  • Japan's Aging Population: Japan has reached a new demographic milestone, recording over 100,000 citizens aged 100 or older as the country faces mounting pressure on its social care systems and worsening labor shortages.


  • Travel Disruptions: Flights were halted at several major airports across the US Northeast due to widespread tech problems.

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Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills 2, injures 25, strikes historic market near central railway station

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This audio is created with AI assistance

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russian drones killed two people and injured at least 25 more in the capital in the early hours of Sept. 23, local authorities reported, as Russian drones fell in two districts near the Central Station.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed as a result of Russian strikes, and 25 other residents were injured as of 13:37 p.m. local time. Seventeen of the injured were being treated in city hospitals, he added.

Russian drones came down in the Holosiivskyi, Darnitskyi, and Solomianskyi districts of Kyiv, the latter of which also hosts the Kyiv Central Station.

A fire broke out in the historic railway market "Shayba" near the Central Station, Kyiv Independent reporters confirmed. The round structure was built in the 70's as an experimental indoor market.

Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia, said that Russia struck railway infrastructure in Kyiv and injured one of their workers.

At 11:02 am local time, Ukrzaliznytsia said that the Kyiv Central Station was not damaged by the Russian strikes.

Damage at the historic railway market "Shayba" near Kyiv's Central Station after Russia's attack on Kyiv on Sept. 23, 2026 (Anastasiia Kasinchuk/The Kyiv Independent)

Schoolchildren, among others, were sheltering in the Kyiv metro as Russian drones flew over the capital during rush hour.

While the full extent of the damage caused is not fully clear at the moment, smoke was visible from the city centre following the Russian attacks in various parts of Kyiv , according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.

In the Solomianskyi district, a Russian drone struck a 9-story residential building, Klitschko said.

Klitschko also said that drone debris fell in the Solomianskyi district of the capital in an area between residential buildings, and a fire broke out in the area of a transportation company.

A Russian drone also crashed into a four-story business center in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, according to the mayor. A gas station and warehouses in the Holosiivskyi district were also targeted.

In Darnytskyi district, a fire broke out in a warehouse, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMDA).

Internet providers in Kyiv reported network outages after the Russian attacks damaged data centers of the companies Pavutina and UTELS.

Damage at the historic railway market "Shayba" near Kyiv's Central Station after Russia's attack on Kyiv on Sept. 23, 2026 (Anastasiia Kasinchuk/The Kyiv Independent)

In Kyiv Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day damaged 18 facilities, injuring three people, including a 76-year-old man, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, said.

The attacks came on the same day that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Kyiv of the potential for a new large-scale strike by Russia, referencing intelligence reports.

Kyiv authorities don't have the resources to build shelters at every gas station, while the city also faces a shortage of weapons needed to intercept Russian drones and missiles, Klitschko said on Sept. 11.

Russia has recently employed a new tactic of using drones for hours-long attacks on Kyiv, putting residents on edge and into shelters throughout the day and night.

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UNGA 2026 - Google Search

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AI Mode Conversation: UNGA 2026

AI Mode reply for UNGA 2026

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) high-level week is officially underway at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The session, running from , is centered around the theme: "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all". The high-profile General Debate opened on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, drawing nearly 130 heads of state and government.

Major Highlights from the Opening Session

  • President Donald Trump's Address: In a highly anticipated opening speech, the U.S. President stated a deal with Iran is possible after the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, though he alternative-warned he could "annihilate" the nation. He also touted a 15% reduction in the U.S. contribution to the UN budget.
  • The Greenland Security Agreement: President Trump, alongside leaders from Denmark and Greenland, signed a updated security agreement modifying a 1951 treaty. While details remain vague, Trump announced plans to build two new U.S. military bases on the island.
  • Secretary-General Transition: This marks the final assembly for António Guterres, whose second term ends in December. Voting on his replacement is underway among several competing candidates.
  • Key Absences & Bilaterals: Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the New York assembly to prepare for one-on-one talks with Trump in Washington later this week. Meanwhile, high-stakes bilateral meetings are scheduled on the sidelines, including Trump meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Schedule & Key Side Events

  • September 22–26 & 28: General Debate statements from member states.
  • September 23: The Africa Digital Futures Forum will take place in NYC, addressing digital infrastructure, identity, and tax compliance across Africa.
  • September 24: President of the European Council António Costa will address the General Assembly on behalf of the EU.
  • September 25: A high-level UNGA 81 event on African Women Leading Clean Cooking will advocate for sustainable energy transitions and leadership investments.

New York City Travel & Gridlock Advisory

Due to the intense security presence of counter-drone teams and police checkpoints, New York City has entered its annual stretch of Gridlock Alert days. Traffic around midtown Manhattan and the UN Headquarters is moving at its slowest yearly pace, and transportation officials strongly urge commuters to utilize mass transit, ferries, or walking.

Would you like to track a specific aspect of UNGA 2026? I can set up an information agent to monitor updates on the UN Secretary-General vote, bilateral meeting outcomes (such as the Trump-Zelenskyy talks), or specific country speeches scheduled later this week. Let me know what you would like to follow.

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