ShinyHunters leak exposes data of more than 2.3 million tied to Moody Bible Institute

Personal data connected to more than 2.3 million people associated with Chicago-based Christian educational institution Moody Bible Institute has surfaced online after the extortion group ShinyHunters published files stolen from the Chicago-based Christian educational institution.

Moody Bible Institute first disclosed the attack in June, and the criminal group later released the stolen files when its extortion demands went unmet. Have I Been Pwned has since incorporated the leaked cache into its breach notification database, confirming the scale of the exposure at more than 2.3 million accounts.

The leaked material, made available for download on June 23, includes names, genders, dates of birth, physical and email addresses, phone numbers and marital statuses tied to donors, supporters, students and alumni. The files also contained documents related to donor relations.

Moody Bible Institute has not commented publicly on whether it engaged in negotiations with the attackers, though the release of the data suggests any extortion demands were not satisfied. The institute has said its technology team addressed a vulnerability and brought in outside cybersecurity specialists to assist with its response, and it has advised those affiliated with the organization to monitor their accounts and consider credit freezes and fraud alerts while its investigation continues.

Reports indicate that Moody’s Information Technologies Services team moved to implement security protocols upon discovering the breach, and that the institute has engaged both internal and external cybersecurity experts to conduct a forensic investigation while notifying and cooperating with law enforcement. Moody was reportedly among several colleges and universities targeted in a coordinated wave of attacks, a pattern that underscores the education sector’s continued exposure to extortion-focused threat actors that rely on large-scale data theft and public leak campaigns rather than ransomware encryption.

The full scope of the compromised data remains under investigation, and Moody has not confirmed the precise attack vector or whether ShinyHunters’ claims about the breach match its internal findings. Moody’s leadership, including President Mark Jobe and General Counsel Janet A. Stiven, issued a statement stressing transparency and urgency while acknowledging that the investigation "remains ongoing with many details we are still working to understand."

Moody Bible Institute, founded in 1886, has trained more than 250,000 students through its university programs, which include undergraduate, graduate and online coursework focused on ministry preparation as well as aviation training with a theology component. The organization also operates Moody Radio, a Christian radio network, and maintains a publishing division focused on Christian literature.