Database of 41,000 US DHS employees published online

Publication of personal data database

A hacker group called "Department of Peace" has made a database containing personal information of over 41,000 employees of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publicly available. This information includes staff from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other departments of the ministry.

According to CNBC, the database was published late on the evening of 28 October on the website Distributed Denial of Secrets, a non-profit organisation specialising in publishing leaks. The leak lists employees' names, their positions, departments, contact details (phone numbers and email addresses), as well as data on their direct supervisors. Access to the database is provided through a search tool.

Which departments were affected

The data breach affected employees of the following structures:

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE);
• US Citizenship and Immigration Services;
• US Customs and Border Protection;
• The central office of the Department of Homeland Security.

Causes and reaction of officials

The perpetrators claim they gained access to the information through the single sign-on service Okta, which is used by the ministry. However, representatives of Okta denied any security breach, stating that their systems are secure and there is no evidence of a hack.

The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed to The Washington Post that they are aware of a possible leak and are currently actively working to mitigate the consequences of the incident.

The hackers explained their action as a reaction to a statement by the ministry's head, Markwayne Mullin. On 17 July, he allegedly promised that ICE would "increase pressure on the streets", which entails an increase in the number of migrant arrests and road checks.

Context of stricter immigration policy

During President Donald Trump's second term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly intensified arrests and deportations. This policy has sparked a wave of criticism, as agents have been repeatedly filmed using force against people.