'Icepick': Private info of over 41,000 DHS personnel, including ICE agents, leaked; Hackers seek to replace 'anonymity with accountability'

Details of more than 41,000 personnel working for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including thousands involved in immigration enforcement, have been leaked to the public. Wednesday's leak marks the third time in recent weeks that a government agency has been targeted by leaks or hacks. Last month, the FBI was hacked by a group called ShinyHunters, which took personal information about thousands of agents. In recent days, the Federal Election Commission, which makes public political campaign donation data, was taken offline because of a suspected hacking attempt.

A DHS spokesperson said the agency is "aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively." "We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected," the spokesperson added. "We will update the public when more information is available."

Also read | FBI strikes back at ShinyHunters after alleged hack, arrests leader in Netherlands, warns members: 'Your anonymity won't protect you'

Who was exposed

The leak, as per reports, includes names, work addresses and phone numbers of DHS staff, including that of agents working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) blamed for more than two dozen shootings and killing at least nine people, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both of whom were shot and killed by ICE agents this year in Minnesota, despite not being the targets of arrests. Additionally, data of Customs and Border Protection agents is included in the leak. Details made public also include descriptions of the exact work the agents do for each agency.

The seemingly unprecedented breach of employee information was made public online. A group called the Department of Peace accessed the information from DHS, while journalist and cybersecurity researcher maia crimew, alongside the website Distributed Denial of Secrets, put it online. The information was put in a database named Icepick.

Most of the agents included, over 21,000 of them, work for CBP, according to the data. Nearly 6,600 work for ICE. Other records show agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Protective Service and even people working for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The leaked information also included dozens of previously unknown operation names, the agents that led and worked on those operations, and some of the technology they used in their work, including tech provided by Cellebrite and Palantir.

Also read | Identities of US federal officers who killed Alex Pretti REVEALED, even as DHS refuses to confirm identities to avoid 'doxing'

Replacing 'anonymity with accountability'

The groups wrote in an online statement that the leak was not meant to be a directory of every DHS agent. Rather, the aim was to replace "anonymity with accountability", according to Emma Best, a co-founder of DDoSecrets.

"The leak is extraordinary but deceptive in its simplicity as it identifies the officials responsible for overseeing covert and undercover operations, the government's hunt for leakers and the failed BlueLeaks investigation – along with key personnel in DHS's ever-escalating rendition and deportation programs," Best added.

BlueLeaks refers to a massive leak of US police data in 2020, data from which DDoSecrets also hosted.

A spokesperson for the so-called Department of Peace pointed directly at actions by ICE agents for the group's work to hack DHS records. "On July 17th, Markwayne Mullin said he was 'turning up the heat'. This is what happens to ICE when you do that," the spokesperson wrote on Wednesday. Mullin in March became Secretary of Homeland Security.

How the data was accessed

The Department of Peace said it accessed the DHS agent profiles through a single sign-on service called Okta.

Okta is a popular online security tool that organisations use to ensure that only people with access to internal platforms are logging on to them. A spokeswoman for Okta said the company is aware of the claims being made, but said: "Okta is secure, and we have no evidence our data or systems were compromised."

Also read | 'You killed my fu**ing neighbour': Medic begs to help Renee Good, ICE officers tells him 'I don't care'. Disturbing video emerges

Backlash to immigration enforcement?

In recent months, public backlash to US immigration enforcement has been building as the Trump Administration continues to push a huge increase in arrests and deportations of people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Immigration operations this year have repeatedly turned violent, with ICE agents shooting at more than two dozen people and killing at least nine people. Often, ICE agents are seen carrying out enforcement actions while their faces are covered by masks and sunglasses. Immigration agents rarely identify themselves, despite being required by law to do so, and US politicians have publicly demanded DHS enforce the requirement.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, the US has enacted nearly 1 million deportations, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. More than 70 per cent of the deportations have been of people with no criminal record.