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.
BREAKING: FBI strikes back at ShinyHunters hacking group with overseas arrest of alleged leader, police in the Netherlands and Director Kash Patel announce
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
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/fbi-says-shinyhunters-leader-arrested-as-pokemon-themed-hacking-group-faces-probe-3413552/
