DHS data leak: Agency responds after massive breach exposes details of 41,000 officials, including ICE personnel

Department of Homeland Security has responded after a massive data breach exposed the names of 41,000 officials by a hacktivist group calling itself the Department of Peace. On late Wednesday, October 28, the database was posted on the nonprofit organization ‘Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS),’ which claimed to specialize in “publishing, archiving and analyzing leaked and hacked datasets.”

As per them, the DHS’s leaked data was obtained from an Okta single sign-on service used by the agency led by Markwayne Mullin. The leaked data, which is still searchable as of writing, included employee names, offices, contact information, and assignments. And the employee list ranges from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, to the DHS headquarters.

In a statement to the BBC, a DHS spokesperson said that the agency is “aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively.”


“We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected,” it added that they will update the public when more information is available.

“This dataset is massive in terms of both size and impact. It provides an unprecedented look into the Department of Homeland Security's organizational structure, highlighting which people do what work across multiple DHS agencies, including ICE,” DDoS said, quoting journalist and cybersecurity researcher Maia Arson Crimew.

“It is a complete game changer for anyone investigating DHS, simplifying the identification of agents and their lines of command. It provides FOIA material for years to come!,” she reportedly said.

Cofounder Emma Best said, “Rather than an indiscriminate directory of every DHS employee, Icepick identifies many of the architects and drivers of DHS policy and operations.”

“The leak is extraordinary but deceptive in its simplicity as it identifies the officials responsible for overseeing covert and undercover operations, the government's hunt for leakers and the failed BlueLeaks investigation - along with key personnel in DHS's ever-escalating rendition and deportation programs," Best added in the statement.

The leak was carried out by the hacker group in response to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin reportedly saying on July 17 that ICE will be “turning up the heat” on the streets with more immigration arrests and traffic stops, DDoS said in quoting a spokesperson for Department of Peace.’ According to the Migration Policy Institute, DHS completed 980,000 deportations in the first 18 months of Donald Trump’s second term.