Hackers Release Contact Info for 40,000 Homeland Security Staff

More than 40,000 U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees now have their names, phone numbers, and home addresses publicly searchable online. The data, released on Wednesday, includes details for agents, operatives, and associates. Some of the individuals named worked in undercover operations. The breach exposes the personal information of staff who often conduct their duties in plain clothes or with masks, a practice that has drawn criticism from oversight advocates.

The group responsible for the leak identifies itself as the Department of Peace. In an online statement, a spokesperson linked the action to remarks made by Secretary Markwayne Mullin on July 17. Mullin said at the time that he was turning up the heat on the agency. The spokesperson wrote, This is what happens to ICE when you do that.

According to the group, the hackers accessed the data by compromising the department's single sign-on system. They transferred the material to Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit that publishes government records. That organization released the data in a database called Icepick. The Department of Peace also shared the files with Ryan Ottignon, a U.S. journalist, and a Swiss hacker known as maia arson crimew. Ottignon stated that the two built the searchable database, with the Swiss developer handling the technical infrastructure.

Emma Best, a cofounder of Distributed Denial of Secrets, described the leak as extraordinary but deceptive in its simplicity. She noted that the records connect specific officials to covert operations and deportation programs. Other activists suggest the data could help researchers and citizens who previously struggled to get specific names and email addresses through freedom of information requests.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it is aware of a potential breach. The department stated it is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively. Officials added that they are taking necessary steps to ensure all staff are properly protected.

The released records include more than 21,000 entries for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees. Roughly 10,000 more relate to Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff and its Homeland Security Investigations unit. This total represents about one-fifth of the department's workforce of just over 220,000 people. The breach follows similar hacking incidents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Ottignon rejected the term doxing for the release. He argued that public officials should not hide their identities while performing duties he called universally unspeakable things in local communities. He described the database as a tool for necessary oversight in a free society. A note attached to the files by Distributed Denial of Secrets read, They have our information, so it is only fair that we have theirs.