Council of Europe 2026 ShinyHunters Data Breach

The Council of Europe, an international organization headquartered in France, is the subject of a claimed data breach by the threat group ShinyHunters. The group alleges theft of 297 GB of data and has threatened to publish it unless demands are met by 16 June 2026. The disclosure date is 14 June 2026, when the claim was reported. No specific record count or affected user population has been confirmed, and the organization has not yet verified the breach.

The attack vector is unauthorized access, as ShinyHunters claims to have exfiltrated a large volume of data. The specific initial access method, exploitation technique, and affected systems have not been disclosed. The compromised data types are unspecified beyond the volume of data allegedly stolen. ShinyHunters is a known threat actor associated with data extortion and sale of stolen databases.

As of the article date, the Council of Europe has not confirmed the breach, and no regulatory actions, litigation, ransom payment, or containment milestones have been reported. The claim remains unverified.