Information on more than 41,000 officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been leaked, including names, phone numbers, emails, job titles, and details about covert operations and surveillance. This includes secret operatives, intelligence personnel, and immigration enforcement agents amid the stringent crackdown on illegal immigration during the Trump administration, and occurs amid multiple recent U.S. government data breaches.
Data on over 41,000 DHS officials has been published online, covering personnel involved in immigration law enforcement, surveillance, intelligence, as well as those linked to covert and undercover operations.
The nonprofit website Distributed Denial of Secrets, which publishes data to promote transparency, reported that the information came from a group calling itself "Department of Peace." Cybersecurity journalist and researcher Maia Krim co-released the data with the site in a database named "Icepick."
A DHS spokesperson said the agency is aware of a potential data breach and is working quickly and effectively to address the situation. They emphasized prioritizing the safety of all personnel and will implement measures to adequately protect staff, promising to share more information with the public as details become available.
The leaked data includes names, phone numbers, work emails, office locations, job titles, and email groups of officials from DHS agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and federal protective services.
The data indicates over 21,000 personnel are affiliated with CBP and nearly 6,600 with ICE. It also reveals dozens of previously undisclosed operation names, lists of officials who led or participated in these missions, and technologies used, including tools from Cellebrite and Palantir.
Some leaked information pertains to officials responsible for special operations, surveillance, digital forensics, and undercover work. Other items disclose previously unknown organizational structures, projects, and missions, although some details match information officials have shared on LinkedIn.
Emma Best, co-founder of Distributed Denial of Secrets, said Maia Krim developed a search tool to allow the public to examine the released database. She stated the aim is to move from anonymity toward accountability and to support journalists, public information requests, and congressional oversight.
Best said this disclosure is not merely a general personnel list but identifies individuals overseeing covert and undercover operations, those involved in investigating government whistleblowers, and officials related to DHS’s expanding immigrant detention and deportation programs.
The Department of Peace group claims it accessed personnel records through the Single Sign-On system of Okta, a security firm that manages internal platform access for organizations. However, Reuters has not independently verified this claim.
An Okta spokesperson acknowledged awareness of the claims but affirmed, "Okta’s systems are secure, and we have no evidence of a breach affecting our data or systems."
Reuters reported it could not verify the entire leaked dataset but confirmed personal data of six DHS officials by comparing it with credit bureau records and leak data collected by District 4 Labs, a dark web intelligence platform. Journalists also contacted three DHS officials directly and verified phone numbers and other details, with one official stating they learned of the leak for the first time.
The Department of Peace has not issued further comments, but in their statement accompanying the database release, they argued that since DHS officials already hold citizen data, it is only fair that citizens have access to officials’ information. They claimed the data release aims to limit further harm from DHS operations.
The group linked the attack to ICE activities, citing remarks by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on 17 July about increasing pressure on the agency. Department of Peace previously claimed responsibility for breaching DHS systems and leaking contractor agreements in March.
This incident marks the third major U.S. government data breach or cyberattack in recent weeks. In September, hacker group ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen massive amounts of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including employment and medical records of thousands of agents. Last week, the Department of Defense faced a class-action lawsuit after a data leak affected millions of current and former service members.
Additionally, the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which publishes political campaign donation data, temporarily shut down its systems recently amid concerns of attempted breaches.
The DHS data leak occurs amid criticism of immigration law enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration, which pushed for intensified arrests and deportations of suspected illegal immigrants.
Immigration enforcement operations this year have seen multiple violent incidents, with ICE agents reportedly shooting over 24 individuals, resulting in at least nine deaths. Among them were Alex Pretto and Rene Good, both killed by ICE agents in Minnesota despite not being arrest targets.
ICE agents often operate wearing masks and sunglasses to conceal their identities. Reports also indicate some immigration officers do not identify themselves, despite legal requirements, prompting U.S. politicians to call for stricter enforcement of such rules by DHS.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, since Trump resumed the presidency in 2017, the U.S. has deported nearly one million individuals, with over 70% lacking criminal records.