Hackers Leak Data on 40,000+ DHS Employees, Including ICE and CBP Agents

7.0 · 1d ago · US · TECH

The Facts

  • Data on more than 40,000 Department of Homeland Security employees was published online on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, through Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) in a searchable database called Icepick. ✓6 · TechCrunch, BBC, NPR, DW, Fox News, CNBC
  • A hacktivist group calling itself the Department of Peace claimed responsibility and provided the data to DDoSecrets and to journalist/hacker maia arson crimew. ✓6 · TechCrunch, BBC, NPR, DW, Fox News, CNBC
  • The leaked records include names, job titles or assignments, office locations, and in many cases phone numbers and email addresses. ✓6 · TechCrunch, BBC, NPR, DW, Fox News, CNBC
  • The Department of Peace said it obtained the data through an Okta single sign-on system used by DHS. Okta said: "Okta is secure, and we have no evidence our data or systems were compromised." ✓4 · TechCrunch, BBC, NPR, CNBC
  • More than 21,000 of the records relate to U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees. ✓4 · TechCrunch, BBC, NPR, Fox News
Dive deeper · 8 more factsShow less
  • DHS said it is "aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively." ✓4 · NPR, DW, Fox News, CNBC
  • DDoSecrets co-founder Emma Best said the release aims to "replace anonymity with accountability" and is not an indiscriminate directory of all DHS staff. ✓4 · BBC, DW, Fox News, CNBC
  • The Department of Peace cited DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin's July 17 statement about "turning up the heat" as the motivation for the leak. ✓3 · BBC, NPR, CNBC
  • The leak follows a breach of FBI agents' personal information attributed to ShinyHunters and a Pentagon personnel database breach affecting more than 2.76 million living personnel. ✓3 · BBC, Fox News, TechCrunch
  • The dataset is not comprehensive; it represents roughly one-fifth of DHS's workforce of about 220,000. ✓2 · TechCrunch, NPR
  • Fox News independently confirmed that the leaked records include names of several undercover ICE agents. Fox News only
  • TechCrunch verified a portion of the data by matching known DHS employee names against an offline copy; timestamps indicate the records were taken around mid-August. About 1,000 records relate to CISA staff. TechCrunch only
  • Reuters called three DHS employees listed in the data and confirmed their phone numbers and other details. DW only

Context

Personnel data on more than 40,000 DHS employees, including staff at ICE, CBP and CISA, was released online by DDoSecrets after a group called the Department of Peace claimed to have taken it from an Okta single sign-on system. DHS confirmed it is aware of a potential breach and is working to address it.

DDoSecrets said the searchable Icepick database is intended to aid journalists and oversight efforts. Okta denies any evidence its systems were compromised. It is unclear whether the underlying vulnerability has been fixed.

Conflicting Reports

  • ICE headcount: TechCrunch reports about 10,000 ICE and HSI employees; BBC reports nearly 6,600 for ICE (with HSI listed separately); Fox News reports roughly 10,000 ICE personnel.
  • Total count: BBC and CNBC say more than 41,000; TechCrunch, NPR, DW and Fox News say more than 40,000 or approximately 40,000.
  • Fox News cites sources describing the incident as "catastrophic"; other outlets do not characterize it this way.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 2.

8 News Editor A concrete publication of personal data on over 40,000 DHS employees, including undercover ICE agents, is a significant security event affecting many people, though it is not mass-immediate public-safety breaking news.
7 Critical Reader A verified publication of personal data on 40,000+ DHS employees, including undercover ICE agents, is a concrete, significant security breach with real-world safety impact, though it is limited to one leak rather than broad, lasting harm to the public.
7 Global Affairs Analyst A concrete data breach exposing names, locations, and contact details of over 40,000 DHS employees, including undercover ICE agents and CBP staff, published online is a significant security event affecting many people, though it is not a conflict or treaty.
7 Informed Citizen A concrete data breach exposing personal details and undercover ICE agents' identities for 40,000+ federal employees is significant news with real safety and security consequences, though it affects a limited workforce rather than the general public.
7 Policy Expert A publicly leaked personal-data dataset on over 40,000 DHS employees, including undercover ICE agents, is a significant security incident with real safety implications, though it is a data breach rather than a government policy action.
7 Science & Tech Analyst A concrete data breach exposing names, contact details, and undercover ICE agent identities for over 40,000 DHS employees is significant news with real security consequences, though its impact is limited to government personnel rather than the general public.
6 Business Analyst A concrete data breach exposing personal information of over 40,000 DHS employees, including undercover ICE agents, is significant and newsworthy with security implications, though its economic market impact is limited.

Sources (9)

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