Sensitive Data of Over 40,000 Homeland Security Employees Leaked
A specialized information leak website revealed the publication of data concerning over 40,000 employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including details about officials working in sensitive areas. The department issued an official statement acknowledging awareness of a possible breach and stated it is working intensively to address the situation swiftly and efficiently. It confirmed efforts to ensure the protection of its employees and promised to inform the public when more information becomes available. This leak marks the third largest government data breach incident in the past month, following a September announcement by a hacker group about stealing massive data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including sensitive job and medical information of thousands of employees. Last week also saw a class-action lawsuit filed against the Department of Defense after a breach exposed data related to millions of current and former military personnel. The leaked data includes names, phone numbers, and email addresses of employees in various agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Homeland Security Investigations office, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, among others. The information also contained job titles and email groups, revealing details about agents assigned to special operations, surveillance tasks, digital criminal investigations, and covert work. The entity calling itself the "Ministry of Peace" has not responded to requests for comment but attached a statement with the leaked data claiming that Homeland Security employees hold their information, so it is fair they have theirs as well, expressing hope that the data will be used to mitigate further harm and support all efforts aimed at that. This entity had previously claimed responsibility in March for breaching the Department of Homeland Security and releasing documents related to contracts with external providers.
