The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investigating a significant data breach that may have exposed the personal and professional information of approximately 40,000 employees and contractors. Sources described the incident as "catastrophic" and confirmed that portions of the leaked data, including names, titles, locations, and in some cases, phone numbers and email addresses, are authentic.
The breach includes records associated with around 10,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and more than 20,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees, including Border Patrol agents. The data leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets reported on Wednesday that it had released information about these employees.
An anti-fascist hacking group identifying itself as the "Department of Peace" has claimed responsibility for obtaining the data. The group stated that DHS employees "have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs" and expressed hope that the data could be used to limit further harm by the DHS.
A DHS spokesperson acknowledged the situation, stating, "DHS is aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively." The department added, "We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected." The spokesperson committed to updating the public as more information becomes available.
Distributed Denial of Secrets co-founder Emma Best indicated that a tool has been developed to allow public searching of the compromised data, aiming to "replace anonymity with accountability."
The reported breach occurs amidst ongoing concerns about the security of government personnel records. In a separate incident last month, a Pentagon personnel database breach exposed sensitive information for over 2.76 million living U.S. military and civilian personnel, as well as records of 294,000 deceased individuals. Unauthorized users accessed unencrypted files containing Social Security numbers and employment details in that incident.