Names, offices, phone numbers, even assignments: a self-described "hacktivist" outfit says it has put tens of thousands of Homeland Security workers into a searchable online directory, reports the Washington Post. Calling itself the Department of Peace, the group claims it slipped into secure DHS systems via the agency's single sign-on login and passed the trove to nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets, US-based journalist Ryan Ottignon, and a Swiss hacker, "maia arson crimew," who built the public database. "On July 17th, Markwayne Mullin said he was 'turning up the heat.' This is what happens to ICE when you do that," the Department of Peace said in an online statement, per NPR.
The site, dubbed "Icepick," lists more than 41,000 DHS employees and contractors, including ICE and Border Patrol personnel and some undercover investigators. The list is targeted, reports CNBC, noting that DDoS cofounder Emma Best said, "Rather than an indiscriminate directory of every DHS employee, Icepick identifies many of the architects and drivers of DHS policy and operations." DHS says it is "aware of a potential breach" and vows to protect staff.
One former ICE chief labeled the exposure a "nightmare scenario" that could jeopardize agents' safety and ongoing investigations. "I feel terrible for the agents and their families," said John Sandweg, who served during the Obama administration. "The array of threats they face as a result of this is stunning." The activists, meanwhile, frame it as a transparency tool for scrutinizing President Trump's immigration apparatus.
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