In the USA, official and contact data of over 41,000 employees and contractors of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have been disclosed. Among them are employees of immigration services, border protection, and units engaged in covert investigations. American authorities are investigating the circumstances of a possible cyber breach.

This was reported by CNBC, The Washington Post, and WIRED.

The information archive was published on October 28 by the nonprofit organization Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), which is involved in disclosing documents and data leaks. According to its statement, the materials were provided by the hacker group Department of Peace.

The disclosed data set was named Icepick. It contains employee names, official email addresses, phone numbers, positions, workplaces, and details about their affiliation with internal units.

The largest number of records pertain to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The database also includes information about employees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and other DHS components.

WIRED journalists independently examined the obtained materials and determined that they allow reconstruction of part of the department's organizational structure. In particular, the documents contain information about official connections between units, internal information systems, and employees involved in special operations and surveillance.

According to the publication's assessment, the archive covers approximately one-seventh of DHS personnel. At the same time, the organizers of the publication acknowledge that the database is not a complete list of the ministry's employees and may contain inaccuracies.

The Washington Post also reviewed the materials and verified their authenticity with the help of current and former agency officials. However, independent confirmation of the accuracy of absolutely all disclosed records is currently absent.

The hackers claim they obtained the information through the Okta single sign-on system, which DHS employees use for authorization into internal services.

However, Okta denies compromise of its own infrastructure. Its representatives stated that they found no evidence of a breach of their systems or a data leak from them. Thus, the ultimate method of obtaining the information remains undetermined.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that they are aware of a possible incident and stated that measures are being taken to investigate it and protect personnel.

Former Acting ICE Director John Sandweg, in a comment to The Washington Post, warned that revealing the identities of law enforcement officers could pose a threat to them and their families, as well as harm criminal investigations.

According to DDoSecrets representatives, the purpose of the publication is to increase transparency of American law enforcement agencies. The leak occurred amid public disputes over the intensification of immigration enforcement and deportations under the Trump administration.

The dissemination of the archive has already prompted a reaction from technology platforms. As WIRED reported, the social network Bluesky blocked links to the Icepick database, explaining the decision as a violation of rules against publishing contact information of people without their consent.

The company noted that it restricted access specifically to the archive, leaving the possibility to discuss the incident and share journalistic materials about it.

This is not the first major data leak from American government agencies in recent months. In September, the hacker group ShinyHunters claimed the theft of personal data of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees. The exact scale of that incident also remained under review.

Currently, American authorities have not reported whether the attackers gained direct access to internal DHS systems, nor have they identified the final number of employees whose information may have been compromised.

Based on materials from: CNBC, The Washington Post, WIRED