What drives ShinyHunters, the group that claimed responsibility for hacking the FBI?

According to CBC News, ShinyHunters has been active since at least 2019 and is known as one of the most prolific data theft and extortion groups[1].Ian Lin, an ethical hacker at Packetlabs, told CBC that "Every time they compromise something, they really want a big bang."[1] CBC reports that Lin says the group seems to be mostly financially motivated and not driven by a particular ideology or worldview.[1]Former FBI official Cynthia Kaiser told CBC that the group's behaviour "It's almost a more of a personal aggrandizing and being able to have those bragging rights."[2] CBC also reports that members seem to be proficient English speakers, separating them from other ransomware groups that tend to be Russian.[2]The group told The Register that it hacked the FBI to "contest the allegations made against ShinyHunters in their May 2026 FLASH report."[3] Axios reports that the FBI's May advisory warned the hackers "commonly use harassment strategies"[4], including swatting.According to NBC News, the Justice Department told lawmakers that the affected system holds sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers[5].CBC reports that a ShinyHunters representative later said they were never planning to release the sensitive data[6].Separately, NBC News reports that Dutch National Police announced that they arrested a 24-year-old Amsterdam man suspected of being a ShinyHunters hacker on Sept. 15.[5]