WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are investigating an extensive cyber security breach after a hacking collective publicly released internal records containing personal details and job information for more than 40,000 Department of Homeland Security personnel.
The data disclosure, published on Wednesday, includes names, titles, work locations, phone numbers and email addresses belonging to staff across multiple agencies, according to reports from NPR, Fox News and The Verge. Among those compromised are thousands of officers working for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as several undercover operatives.
Single sign-on system targeted
An anti-fascist cyber collective calling itself the “Department of Peace” took credit for the unauthorized intrusion. The group stated online that it gained entry to the personnel files by circumventing the agency’s single sign-on access mechanism. The Verge reported that the breach involved Okta, an identity management vendor utilized by the department.
Following the intrusion, the collective provided the data cache to Distributed Denial of Secrets, an online transparency archive, which made the records accessible under the file name “Icepick.” The group also collaborated with Swiss software researcher maia arson crimew and American reporter Ryan Ottignon to assemble an indexed catalog for the public, NPR reported.
Emma Best, co-founder of Distributed Denial of Secrets, described the release as an effort to “replace anonymity with accountability,” according to Fox News. The hackers claimed in a statement that personnel “have our information, so it’s only fair that we have theirs,” adding they aimed to limit the agency’s enforcement operations.
Scope of the exposed files
While the leak represents roughly a fifth of the department’s total workforce of more than 220,000 people, the compromised rosters hit enforcement divisions especially hard. According to the news reports, the files hold:
- More than 20,000 records from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including Border Patrol personnel.
- Between 7,000 and 10,000 files tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its Homeland Security Investigations arm.
- Select records connected to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- Internal details connecting specific field teams to surveillance technologies, including PenLink data analytics and the facial recognition application Mobile Fortify.
Fox News reported that multiple sources verified parts of the uploaded database, confirming that the files expose several undercover ICE agents stationed throughout the nation.
Ottignon defended the publication in remarks to NPR, arguing that federal immigration officers often operate in local communities in plain clothes or while concealing their identities, making independent public oversight necessary.
Department reaction and unresolved questions
The leak triggered alarm among government officials who monitor personnel safety. Department leadership did not elaborate on specific protective steps for field personnel but acknowledged the incident.
“DHS is aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively,” an agency spokesperson told Fox News. The department added that it takes threats against personnel seriously and “will work to ensure all are properly protected.”
The intrusion comes amid growing scrutiny over federal information security safeguards. Just last month, an unencrypted Pentagon database breach exposed the private records of roughly three million living and deceased military and civilian defense personnel. It remains unknown what operational adjustments ICE and border agencies will enact to shield exposed undercover investigators, or whether federal law enforcement has identified any of the individuals operating behind the hacker collective.
