A 24-year-old Dutch man has been arrested in an investigation into ShinyHunters, the hacking group that recently claimed it breached the FBI’s jobs website and has previously been linked to an April attack on Rockstar Games.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the suspect as “one of the alleged leaders” of ShinyHunters, saying the Dutch High-Tech Crime Unit worked with FBI investigators to make the arrest. Dutch police said the man was also suspected of attempting to arrange two murders, but that investigation is unrelated to the ShinyHunters case.
A Rotterdam court has ordered him held for another 90 days.
The arrest was publicly announced days after the FBIJobs.gov breach, but Dutch authorities say the suspect was actually detained on September 15, before ShinyHunters publicly claimed the FBI hack on September 22.
Authorities have not publicly named the suspect. Reuters reported that he is Pepijn van der Stap, an offensive security lead at Amsterdam-based cybersecurity company Neo Security. Van der Stap was convicted in 2023 over data theft and extortion offenses and was released from prison in December 2025.
His former employer said investigators have found no evidence that he hacked Neo Security or its clients. ShinyHunters has denied that Van der Stap is associated with the group.
The FBI hack carried a very deliberate Pokemon reference
On September 22, ShinyHunters defaced the FBI’s jobs website with a message claiming the site had been “seized” and replaced agency imagery with an image of Umbreon, a Pokemon known for its black body and yellow rings. Images of the defacement were shared online by cybersecurity researchers, including
The choice of Pokemon was not random. The group’s name is a reference to shiny Pokemon, rare alternate-color versions that players spend hours trying to find and collect. Van der Stap previously used the alias “Umbreon” while selling stolen databases on cybercrime forums, and his old avatar featured the same Pokemon.
KrebsOnSecurity reported that the Umbreon image may have been used by the current ShinyHunters operation to pin the FBI hack on Van der Stap. That theory has not been independently confirmed, highlighting how difficult it is to determine which individuals are operating under the ShinyHunters name.
ShinyHunters claimed it stole between 2 and 3 terabytes of data involving FBI employees and job applicants. The group provided samples that included names, addresses, phone numbers, assignments and family information. 404 Media reported that it reviewed a sample of roughly 5,000 alleged agent records, while Reuters said some details appeared to match public and credit bureau records.
The FBI has not confirmed the full scope or source of the alleged breach. The agency said it was investigating whether the intrusion began within its own systems or through a third-party provider.
ShinyHunters said the attack was not financially motivated and demanded that the FBI retract or remove a May advisory describing the group as a cybercriminal organization involved in large-scale data theft, extortion, harassment and swatting. The FBI’s public advisory remains online.
ShinyHunters was previously linked to the Rockstar Games hack
The group became known to many gamers after it claimed responsibility for an April breach involving Rockstar Games, the developer behind Grand Theft Auto. As we reported at the time, ShinyHunters said it accessed Rockstar data through a third-party service connected to Snowflake and threatened to publish the information unless its demands were met.
Rockstar confirmed that a limited amount of non-material company information had been accessed, while stressing that the incident had no impact on its players. The available reporting did not establish that GTA 6 source code or playable game files were stolen.
Following the Dutch arrest, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman issued an unusually direct warning to the remaining members of ShinyHunters.
“You know how to find us, and we know how to find you,” Leatherman said. “I suggest you reach out first while the choice is still yours.”
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
