Dutch police arrest ShinyHunters hacker accused of planning two murders

Dutch police announced on Tuesday that they arrested a 24-year-old man from Amsterdam on September 15 for his alleged role in the ShinyHunters cybercriminal gang. Authorities said he was detained under Dutch law for participating in a criminal organization and has been remanded in custody for a minimum of 90 days while the investigation continues. During the seizure of the suspect's electronic devices, investigators discovered material on a laptop they say relates to arranging two murders abroad. Dutch officials described that inquiry as separate from the probe into ShinyHunters, and they are investigating the alleged plans to orchestrate violence. Law-enforcement partners including the U.S. FBI have pointed to ShinyHunters as responsible for a wide pattern of data breaches affecting more than 140 organizations globally. Dutch authorities have cited breaches at companies such as Pornhub, Ticketmaster and AT&T, and the group has also claimed responsibility for a breach of Dutch phone provider Odido; police said the arrested man was not detained in connection with the Odido incident. Independent security reporting named the arrested individual as Pepijn van der Stap and noted he has been identified in prior coverage as a cybersecurity professional who also faced allegations of criminal hacking and extortion. Separate reports said the arrest took place at the offices of Neo Security, where the individual worked as chief technology officer, and that the raid involved flash-bang devices. Neo Security and officials did not immediately provide comment to TechCrunch, and the ShinyHunters group has denied an association with the arrested man. The arrest follows claims by ShinyHunters that they extracted personal information from the FBI’s careers site, including names, addresses, job titles and Social Security numbers for thousands of agents and applicants. Reporters examining samples of the alleged stolen data have also described highly sensitive medical and psychiatric material among the records, prompting concerns about implications for counterintelligence and personnel security. U.S. authorities have not publicly confirmed a full FBI breach at the time of reporting.