Personal information of more than 40,000 employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been leaked due to a cyberattack.
On October 28, local time, the nonprofit organization DDoSecrets released the information of DHS employees through its website, according to BBC and Reuters.
The leaked data includes names, work addresses, phone numbers, and job descriptions of over 21,000 employees from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and more than 6,600 employees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), totaling 41,000 DHS staff.
Information from agents of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Protective Service (FPS), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was also compromised.
Notably, the leak included dozens of previously undisclosed operation names and the names of agents leading those operations, as well as technical information related to operations provided by Cellebrite and Palantir.
DDoSecrets stated that the data was compiled based on information obtained by the hacker group known as the Department of Peace.
DDoSecrets is a nonprofit whistleblower organization that publicly discloses confidential documents and internal materials leaked from governments and corporations. Since its inception in 2018, it has archived leaked data from hundreds of agencies, providing it to journalists and researchers, earning it the nickname 'the second WikiLeaks.'
Emma Best, co-founder of DDoSecrets, claimed that the purpose of this disclosure is to replace anonymity with accountability. He noted that the leaked materials reveal the identities of those responsible for secret and undercover operations, as well as government efforts to identify internal whistleblowers, including key figures in the increasingly aggressive deportation programs.
He added that Crimeu has developed a searchable tool accessible to the public, suggesting that this data will enhance the media's reporting capabilities and Congress's oversight of the executive branch. This incident is effectively a hacking leak justified under the guise of government oversight. BBC identified this incident as the third major hacking targeting U.S. government agencies.
Previously, last month, a hacker group called ShinyHunters attacked the FBI, stealing personal information of thousands of current and former agents and job applicants.
Recently, there were indications of a hacking attempt on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website, which manages political donation records, leading to a temporary shutdown of access.
DHS issued a statement acknowledging the potential for information leaks and stated that it is actively responding to resolve the situation swiftly.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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