Hackers Claim Stolen DHS Data Includes ICE Staff and Covert Investigators

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In a hacker attack on the US Department of Homeland Security, contact details from more than 41,000 employees were allegedly stolen, according to activists. The attackers operate under the name “Department of Peace”. As several US media outlets cited in a statement from the group, the data includes names, offices, contact details and areas of responsibility.

Der Spiegel reports that the published information is also said to contain the identities of covert investigators, alongside employees of the immigration enforcement agency ICE. This makes the report considerably more concrete than a mere threat: the perpetrators cite a large number of affected employees and describe several categories of personal data.

More Than 41,000 Records at the Department of Homeland Security

The agency affected

The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, employs 260,000 staff, according to its own figures. Based on that total, the reported data leak would have affected almost one-sixth of the workforce.

In addition to ICE, the department includes the border protection agency CBP and the TSA, which is responsible for airport security. The activists’ statement explicitly targets employees of these agencies. They justify the attack by saying: “The employees of the Department of Homeland Security have information about us, so it is only fair that we have information about them.”

The perpetrators’ reasoning

The group says the data could be used to “prevent further harm by the Department of Homeland Security.” As its political background, Der Spiegel cites activists opposing the department’s harsh deportation policy.

The claims concerning covert investigators are particularly sensitive. The perpetrators say they not only gained access to officials’ contact details, but that the data also contains information about the use of covert investigators.

Two US Media Outlets Verified Parts of the Data

What has already been verified

The Washington Post and television network NBC News said they had verified parts of the data. This means two outlets did not merely repeat the publication claim but independently checked at least some of the information provided by the activists.

The report, however, provides no specific number of compromised covert investigators and does not describe what details about their identities or assignments are supposedly contained in the data. It also does not specify when the attack took place.

DHS Confirms a Possible Security Incident

The agency’s response

In response to questions, the Department of Homeland Security said it was aware of a “possible security incident.” The agency was working to “resolve the situation swiftly and effectively.”

The department also said it took the threat to employee security extremely seriously and was working to provide appropriate protection for affected employees. While the DHS thus confirms a possible security incident, the cited report does not say that it independently verified the scale of the data leak claimed by the hackers.

Third Major Government Data Leak

The timing

According to Der Spiegel, this is already the third major data leak involving government agencies to make headlines in the past month. The case therefore forms part of a series of security incidents involving data from government bodies.

The current case stands out because of the allegedly large number of affected employees and the additional mention of the identities of covert investigators. At the same time, the key claims made by the perpetrators remain separate from confirmation: The Washington Post and NBC News verified parts of the data, while the DHS is investigating a possible security incident. You can find further details about the report in Der Spiegel’s linked original article.