The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investigating a potentially massive data breach that may have exposed the identities and contact information of tens of thousands of employees, sources told Fox News.
The suspected breach, which sources described as a “catastrophic” security incident, may have exposed the names, titles, locations and, in some cases, phone numbers and email addresses of approximately 40,000 DHS employees and contractors, including roughly 10,000 ICE personnel, according to sources familiar with the data.
The data also includes records associated with more than 20,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees, including Border Patrol personnel.
Multiple sources confirmed the authenticity of portions of the data.
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The data leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets said Wednesday it had released information about the employees.
Fox News independently confirmed that the leaked records include the names of several undercover ICE agents working in different parts of the country.
An anti-fascist hacking group calling itself the “Department of Peace” claimed responsibility for obtaining the data.
“DHS is aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively,” a department spokesperson told Fox News.
“We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected,” the statement continued. “We will update the public when more information is available.”
Distributed Denial of Secrets co-founder Emma Best said in a statement that a tool had been developed to allow the public to search the data, saying it would “replace anonymity with accountability.”
The Department of Peace said in its own statement that DHS employees “have our information, so it’s only fair that we have theirs” and that it hoped the data “can be used to limit further harm by the DHS and supports all efforts in that direction.”
The reported breach comes amid broader concerns about the security of government personnel records.
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Last month, a Pentagon personnel database breach exposed sensitive personal information belonging to more than 2.76 million living U.S. military and civilian personnel and 294,000 deceased individuals.
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