The Department of Homeland Security logo on a law enforcement vehicle in Washington, USA, March 7, 2017.
Samuel Corum | Anadolu | Getty Images
The identities of more than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees were allegedly exposed in a massive data breach by a hacktivist group calling itself the Department of Peace.
Late Wednesday, the database was posted to Decentralized Secret Denial, a nonprofit dedicated to news leaks, and claimed to have been obtained from the Okta single sign-on service used by DHS.
Employee names, locations, contact information, and assignments are revealed and searchable.
Okta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This is not a comprehensive list of all DHS employees,” DDoS said, citing co-founder Emma Best. “IcePick is not an indiscriminate list of all DHS employees and identifies many of the architects and promoters of DHS policy and operations.”
DHS did not respond to requests for comment. The agency told the Washington Post it was “aware of the potential breach” and “is working to quickly and effectively address the situation.”
The searchable database appears to include employees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, and DHS headquarters.
The hacker group said the leak was made in response to comments by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who reportedly said on July 17 that ICE would “increase the heat on the streets” by increasing immigration arrests and traffic stops.
As President Donald Trump enters his second term, ICE agents have been documented using force during operations, adding to a backlash against his efforts to step up arrests and deportations of suspected illegal immigrants.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, DHS completed 980,000 deportations in the first 18 months of its term.
