U.S. federal investigators suspect that executives at ransomware negotiation firms had unusually close ties with the ShinyHunters hacking group.

Breaking, exclusive: Feds Suspect Ransom Negotiator Ran ShinyHunters Extortion Site U.S. federal investigators pursuing the ShinyHunters hacking group that recently stole highly sensitive data from the FBI have identified executives at two different ransomware negotiation firms who maintained unusually close relations with the extortion group, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. Sources close to the investigation say one of the executives in the United States even helped ShinyHunters operate a website that pressured victims into paying a ransom. From the story: "KrebsOnSecurity has learned from two sources close to the ShinyHunters probe that FBI investigators believe at least one executive at a U.S.-based consulting firm played an active role in operating the now-defunct ShinyHunters victim extortion website “shinywire[.]com.” KrebsOnSecurity is not naming the U.S. company or the suspected executive(s) for now because they have not yet been charged with a crime, but it is a prestigious firm with more than 1,000 associates." https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/10/feds-suspect-ransom-negotiator-ran-shinyhunters-extortion-site/ #shinyhunters #cybercrime #ransomware #fbi #shinywire

Sources: US investigators pursuing ShinyHunters, which stole FBI data, identified executives at two ransomware negotiation firms who had unusually close ties (Brian Krebs/Krebs on Security) https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/10/feds-suspect-ransom-negotiator-ran-shinyhunters-extortion-site/ http://www.techmeme.com/261019/p27#a261019p27