EXCLUSIVE: Accenture contractor removed from FBI following damaging data breach, sources say

FBI cyber chief Brett Leatherman told Reuters that the bureau's review found the breach followed a contractor's failure "to implement a security patch explicitly issued to secure the platform[1]." He added that the FBI "has removed the contractor and taken all necessary steps to both mitigate any further risk and protect our workforce."[1]According to Reuters, the FBI did not identify the platform or third-party organization, but the two sources familiar with the matter said the platform was Oracle's PeopleSoft[1]. Reuters says ShinyHunters claimed it exploited PeopleSoft to break into the FBI's job site last month[1]. The sources also said the third-party organization was Accenture.[1]Reuters reports that Accenture said it was "proud to support the mission of the FBI and will continue to do so."[1] According to Reuters, the company did not answer questions about the contractor or their alleged failure to patch.[1]Nextgov/FCW quoted an unnamed person as saying that Accenture is responsible for software patch management and maintaining custom code at the FBI[2].Reuters reports that the breach exposed granular descriptions of named employees' counterintelligence jobs, street addresses of human intelligence operatives, and medical and psychiatric records[1].Reuters also reported that last week, a key ShinyHunters suspect was detained in Jordan[1], and that, according to its sources, the alleged hacker was cooperating[1].