Hackers Release Personal Data of 40,000 Homeland Security Personnel

More than 40,000 U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees had their names, phone numbers, and addresses exposed on Wednesday. The data includes records for agents, operatives, and associates involved in undercover operations. The leak represents roughly one-fifth of the department's total workforce of slightly more than 220,000 staff members.

The hacking group, the Department of Peace, claimed responsibility for the breach on Wednesday. They stated they accessed the data by subverting DHS's single sign-on system. In an online statement, a spokesperson for the group referenced a comment made by Secretary Markwayne Mullin on July 17, when he said he was turning up the heat. The group asserted that this exposure is the result of that pressure.

The stolen material was distributed to the collective Distributed Denial of Secrets, or DDoSecrets. That group posted the information in a database named Icepick. The Department of Peace also shared the data with U.S. journalist Ryan Ottignon and a Swiss hacker known as maia arson crimew. Together, they built a searchable online database, with crimew performing the technical work, according to Ottignon.

Emma Best, a cofounder of DDoSecrets, described the leak as extraordinary but deceptive in its simplicity. She noted that the data makes explicit connections between officials overseeing covert operations and key personnel in rendition and deportation programs. Other activists said the information will aid those investigating DHS or filing freedom of information requests, which often yield limited results due to a lack of specific details.

The department said it is aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively. DHS added that it is taking necessary steps to ensure all are properly protected. The breach follows similar hacking attacks at the FBI. More than 21,000 of the exposed records identify employees with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, while another 10,000 relate to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its Homeland Security Investigations unit.

Ottignon rejected suggestions that the release constitutes doxing of government employees. He argued that public officials frequently use masks and plain clothes to hide their identities while seeking to hide who they are in various communities. He stated that this behavior is unacceptable in a free society. A note attached to the files by DDoSecrets read: "They have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs."

The database is not comprehensive. It covers approximately 20% of the Homeland Security workforce. The release occurred on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.