Over 40,000 DHS employees' details leaked by hackers; undercover agents exposed

Details of thousands of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents were leaked in a major hack on Wednesday. Leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets said that it had released data on over 40,000 DHS employees, including details on officials working in sensitive fields like surveillance and human intelligence.Details of ICE agents were also leaked as data on DHS employees was released online. (REUTERS)The data was reportedly accessed from the Okta sign-on service the DHS uses. However, the company told Reuters that it does not have any indication of their data or systems being compromised.The DHS, in a statement, noted it was “aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively.” The federal agency said it was working to ensure staff were adequately protected and would inform the public as and when “more information is available.”What does the DHS leaked data contain?The DHS data contains names, phone numbers and email addresses of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees. It also includes these details for employees of the Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and other agencies under the DHS umbrella.Job titles and email groups were also part of the leaked data, and it showed which agents were assigned to special operations, undercover work, surveillance jobs, and computer forensics.Also Read | Tech Giants Ramp Up Resistance to ICE in Bid to Avoid Democratic ScrutinyAs per Reuters, in many cases, the data tracked information that was already available on DHS employees' LinkedIn profiles. However, in other instances, the data revealed nonpublic information about internal DHS organization charts or programs or operations that had remained previously undisclosed.Series of hacks on US federal agenciesThe DHS data leak is the latest in a series of hacks carried out against US federal agencies. In September, ShinyHunters claimed they'd accessed a massive trove of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which included sensitive job details as well as medical information of thousands of staffers.Just last week, the Defense Department was hit with a class action lawsuit after a breach exposing data on millions of current and ex-military personnel.Distributed Denial of Secrets co-founder Emma Best said, in a statement, that the hacktivist and journalist "maia arson crimew" had developed a search tool for the data and that the public could browse it. Best also said that the tool would “replace anonymity with accountability”. The aim reportedly is to empower journalists, guide public records requests and boost congressional oversight, as per a Reuters report.The disclosure reportedly draws on information obtained by an entity known as Department of Peace. They stated DHS employees "have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs" and added that it hoped this data “can be used to limit further harm by the DHS and supports all efforts in that direction,” Reuters reported.The Department of Peace had in March taken responsibility for hacking the DHS and posting documents which were related to contracts with outside vendors.(With Reuters inputs)