An activist group has posted a searchable database of contact details and other information on more than 41,000 employees and contractors of the US Department of Homeland Security, in what is thought to be an unprecedented breach.

The Department of Peace hacking group said the details, which include information on staff of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Citizenship and Immigration Services and Customs and Border Protection, were obtained through the Okta single sign-on service that staff use to log into internal systems.

The information was shared with nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets and a Swiss hacker known as maia arson crimew created an online searchable database that the nonprofit said contains employee names, offices, contact information and assignments.

Detailed data

DHS said on Wednesday that it was “aware of a potential breach” and was working to address the situation.

Statements by the groups involved said the “Icepick” database was being published to hold DHS staff accountable for their actions, at a time when departments such as ICE have carried out controversial raids that have resulted in at least nine fatalities, including the high-profile killings of US citizens.

ICE agents routinely carry out raids while wearing masks, and rarely identify themselves, in spite of being required by law to do so.

The database “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”, said DDoS co-founder Emma Best.

DDoS also hosted the BlueLeaks cache of data on US police officers that came to light in 2020.

Hacking group ShinyHunters in September stole data on virtually every FBI employee, although the group refrained from publishing it, while the US Federal Election Commission disabled a service for the disclosure of campaign funding for several days this week due to a breach attempt.