#dhs · Cascadity

0

CCybersecurity #data-leak #ddosecrets #dhs #hacktivism #ICE #privacy

Hacktivists leak work details of about 41,000 Homeland Security employees, including undercover ICE units

WIRED's analysis of the leaked records shows how much a staff directory reveals about an agency's structure and programs.

A group calling itself the Department of Peace says it took personnel records from the Department of Homeland Security's login system and handed them to the transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), which published them on Wednesday, October 28, as "Icepick." According to WIRED and NPR, the data covers more than 41,000 employees and contractors: names, work email addresses, phone numbers and office locations, plus supervisors and the internal permission groups each person belongs to.

WIRED counts more than 21,000 records from Customs and Border Protection and about 10,000 from ICE, including staff in groups that court filings tie to certified undercover operations and wiretap programs. DDoSecrets says the data came from DHS's Okta system; Okta told WIRED it has no evidence its systems were compromised. DHS said it was "aware of a potential breach" and working to protect employees.

The release's backers call it an accountability tool; a Recorded Future analyst told WIRED it could help adversaries target staff. By Thursday, Bluesky was blocking links to the dataset and a searchable site was offline after a takedown notice filed for DHS, TechCrunch reports.

Read it at the source

WIREDMassive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents Independent ↗ NPRHackers expose the identities of more than 40,000 DHS employees Independent ↗ TechCrunchBluesky blocks links to leaked DHS employee data as government seeks takedowns Independent ↗

Rabbit Holes 2

Distributed Denial of Secrets

After exploring Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents, the group that published the files is profiled in Distributed Denial of Secrets.

DDoSecrets is a leak-publishing site founded in 2018; it says it has published over 100 million files from 59 countries.

Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min

0
Doxing

After exploring Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents, the term at the center of the argument is explained in Doxing.

Defines doxing as publishing someone's personally identifiable information without consent, often to harass, and notes how the term's meaning has been used.

Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min

0

0

CVCommunity Views #community #data-leak #dhs #ICE #privacy #reddit

r/technology and r/news react to a leak naming more than 41,000 Homeland Security workers

WIRED's analysis shows what the leaked directory reveals about how DHS is organized; the threads show a sharply divided public.

Details of more than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees and contractors, including names, work email addresses, phone numbers and office locations, were published on Wednesday by the transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets as an archive called "Icepick," WIRED and the BBC report. The groups say the data came from a hacking group calling itself the Department of Peace, via DHS's Okta single sign-on; Okta told WIRED it has no evidence its systems were compromised. WIRED says the records include undercover and surveillance programs; DHS said it is "aware of a potential breach."

The r/technology thread (WIRED) drew about 46,500 upvotes in an 18-million-member community and the r/news thread (BBC) about 43,600 in a 29.5-million-member one. Many top replies cheer the leak, quoting the hackers' note that "they have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs"; others argue that names and work contacts of public employees should be public anyway, and some question why undercover immigration agents are needed.

Read it at the source

Reddit (r/technology)Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents Independent ↗ Reddit (r/news)Details of thousands of US immigration agents leaked in major hack Independent ↗ WIREDMassive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents Independent ↗ BBC NewsDetails of thousands of US immigration agents leaked in major hack Independent ↗

Rabbit Holes 1

Distributed Denial of Secrets

After exploring Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents, the group that published the archive is profiled in Distributed Denial of Secrets.

Wikipedia describes DDoSecrets as a news-leak website founded in 2018 that has worked with media organizations on investigations and says it has published over 100 million files from 59 countries.

Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min

0

0

AIAI #ai-policy #China #cisa #deepseek #dhs #federal-government #federal-procurement #funding #national-security #supply-chain

US orders federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek; days later DeepSeek reportedly raises $15 billion

The Federal Register notice is the order itself; BleepingComputer and TechCrunch explain what it covers, Beijing's response and the funding news that followed.

The Department of Homeland Security published an order in the Federal Register on October 20 that excludes products and services from Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co. and its affiliates from federal civilian procurement, and requires agencies to remove DeepSeek products, including third-party products built on DeepSeek technology, from their IT systems. It was issued under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018. Agencies can request exceptions within 60 days, which CISA will review. BleepingComputer notes it is not a ban on private or consumer use.

According to the reports, DHS cited concerns about possible Chinese government access to data and transfer of sensitive government information, and pointed to earlier research finding security flaws in DeepSeek's iOS app. China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing opposes "overstretching the concept of national security."

Two days later, Bloomberg reported (via TechCrunch) that DeepSeek raised about $15 billion (roughly 100 billion yuan), with CATL and Tencent among potential investors.

Read it at the source

Federal RegisterNotice of Order Regarding Exclusion and Removal of DeepSeek Products From Federal Civilian Executive Branch Information Technology Systems and Procurements Independent ↗ BleepingComputerDHS bans DeepSeek products across US federal civilian agencies Independent ↗ TechCrunchUS orders federal agencies to remove China’s DeepSeek AI from their systems Independent ↗ TechCrunchDeepSeek reportedly raises $15B days after US restrictions Independent ↗

Cascadic Analysis 1

UndertowConversations are a new kind of sensitive data

What hidden risk could pull against this, even if the news is good?

DHS cited possible Chinese government access to data and transfer of sensitive government information. With a chatbot, that data is whatever employees type into it: drafts, questions, pasted documents. The order also reaches third-party products built on DeepSeek technology, which means agencies first have to find where it is embedded.

0

Rabbit Holes 2

SECURE Technology Act

After exploring Notice of Order Regarding Exclusion and Removal of DeepSeek Products From Federal Civilian Executive Branch Information Technology Systems and Procurements, the 2018 law that makes orders like this possible is the SECURE Technology Act.

Covers the 2018 federal law that set up a DHS vulnerability disclosure policy and bug bounty, and provides for federal acquisition supply chain security.

Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min

0
DeepSeek

After exploring DHS bans DeepSeek products across US federal civilian agencies, the company itself is profiled in DeepSeek.

Background on DeepSeek, the Hangzhou-based Chinese AI company owned and funded by the hedge fund High-Flyer that develops open-weights large language models.

Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min

0

0

PSPolitical Spectrum #California #courts #dhs #elections #justice-department #midterms-2026 #noncitizen-voting #voting

California fights a DOJ demand to set aside 20,000 ballots; a judge limits DHS home visits over noncitizen voting

CalMatters lays out both sides of the ballot fight; NPR explains the court order that reins in armed agents' voter-fraud visits.

The Justice Department has sued California and asked a federal court to make the state segregate ballots from about 20,000 registered voters that federal officials call "likely noncitizens." On October 19, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter announced charges against 28 green-card holders, all on that list, and acknowledged it may include some citizens. In an October 20 filing, state Attorney General Rob Bonta called the suit "a reckless political stunt." Los Angeles County officials reviewed a sample of 200 names; of those with a reported birthplace, 38.9% indicated they were born in the U.S., NPR reports.

Separately, on October 21 U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín barred Homeland Security officers in nine states from field operations aimed at people they know or should suspect are citizens, or based only on USCIS data matches, writing that the effort likely violates the Voting Rights Act's ban on voter intimidation. DHS said it has "no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens." The order runs through election night unless it is appealed.

From each bank

Reporting

CalMatters ↗
NPR ↗
NPR ↗

Rabbit Holes 1

Voting Rights Act of 1965

After exploring Federal judge restricts DHS field operations looking for noncitizen voters, the law the judge leaned on is Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The landmark federal law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, during the civil rights movement; Congress later amended it five times to expand its protections.

Wikipedia · Swim · 30 min

0