41,000 Homeland Security Workers Exposed in Data Leak

A leak of internal Department of Homeland Security personnel records has exposed data tied to more than 41,000 employees and contractors across DHS and seven component agencies, according to WIRED, which reviewed the files before publication. The records include email addresses, phone numbers, office addresses, and references to internal systems used in undercover and surveillance work. The data was last updated August 19, 2026, WIRED reports.

What records were exposed in the leak?

The transparency nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets published the archive Wednesday under the name "Icepick," after cybersecurity researcher and journalist maia arson crimew previewed the files for WIRED. Per WIRED's analysis, CBP staffers account for more than half of the roughly 41,000 records. ICE accounts for about 10,000 entries, roughly a third of them tied to Homeland Security Investigations, the agency's investigative wing. US Citizenship and Immigration Services contributes about 6,200 records, and nearly 1,000 belong to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, more than half of those contractors. Altogether the leak covers about a seventh of the DHS workforce.

How did hackers access DHS's Okta system?

DDoSecrets says in its press release that the data originated from DHS's Okta login system and was supplied by a group calling itself the Department of Peace. A note accompanying the files reads, "They have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs," WIRED reports. Okta disputes that characterization. "We are aware of this report. Okta is secure, and we have no evidence our data or systems were compromised," an Okta spokesperson tells WIRED.

Who claims responsibility, and how is DHS responding?

Neither DHS nor the Department of Justice responded to WIRED's request for comment; the FBI referred the inquiry to DHS. crimew, who built a searchable site for the records, tells WIRED, "I don't think we should let them scare us into not looking into them." The leak follows a separate breach in which a group calling itself ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen personal data on nearly every FBI employee and their families, an incident that led to several arrests, per WIRED.

Why does the timing matter for ICE and CBP operations?

WIRED notes the leak lands as DHS has pushed to unmask anonymous critics online, obtain customer records on protesters, and pursue surveillance warrants targeting reporters. Since the start of the second Trump administration, the department has moved to shield employees' names and faces from public view and has broadened its definition of "doxing" to cover publication of basic facts about public workers, such as names and titles, according to WIRED's reporting.

What happens next for affected DHS employees?

The published records reportedly include references to groups tied to wiretap programs, Palantir software, and xAI's Grok chatbot, per WIRED's review, though the outlet's report does not specify what remedial steps, if any, DHS has taken for exposed personnel. With DHS and DOJ silent and Okta denying a systems breach, the scope of any agency-led notification or mitigation effort remains unconfirmed.