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Hacker took records on more than 40,000 DHS employees, Verge reports
The Verge, citing TechCrunch and Wired, said a hacker using the name Department of Peace obtained names, titles, phones, emails and office locations for more than 41,000 Homeland Security workers, including ICE and CBP staff.
- New headline Was: “A hacker stole more than 40,000 DHS employee records”
- Our desk filed its story
A hacker obtained personal records on more than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees, including staff at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, The Verge reported Wednesday, citing TechCrunch and Wired1.
The Verge said the material included names, job titles, phone numbers, email addresses and office locations1. Citing TechCrunch, it said about 21,000 records related to CBP employees and nearly 7,000 to ICE, with additional records from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security Investigations1.
Access came through Okta, an identity and access management service used by DHS, according to TechCrunch as reported by The Verge1. The outlet said the data also linked agencies to surveillance tools, including the facial recognition app Mobile Fortify and PenLink, which can collect and analyze data from phones and online services1.
The Verge identified the actor as a hacker known as Department of Peace1. Citing TechCrunch, it quoted the hacker as saying, "They have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs"1. The Verge said the leak came weeks after hackers stole FBI employee and applicant data1.
The leaked information was given to hacktivist maia arson crimew, who shared it with Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit now hosting a dataset labeled Icepick, The Verge reported1.
DHS did not immediately respond to The Verge1. Independent confirmation of the Okta path, the exact record counts and whether undercover personnel are in the set was not in the Verge account beyond the other outlets it cited1.
