Department of Homeland Security employee data leak
This article needs attention from an expert in Computer security. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. (January 2026) |
In January 2026, the personal information of approximately 4,500 employees of the United States Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were leaked to the website ICE List.[1] The leak came days following the killing of an unarmed woman in Minneapolis by an ICE agent.[2][3] The dataset includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, job titles and other background information.[4]
Background
[edit]ICE List was launched in June 2025 by a British citizen who lives in the Netherlands. The website had gathered information of about two thousand ICE employees up to January 2026. In 2025, Republican senator Masha Blackburn introduced the Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act, a bill that would prohibit the doxing of government officials, as a response to the website.[5][6][1]
Leak
[edit]In January 2026, the owner of ICE List told The Daily Beast that he had obtained personal information about 4,500 more ICE agents with the help of a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower.[1][6] The website has not published information of all agents whose identities were leaked.[7]
Response
[edit]Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin Yoho condemned the leak, claiming that the perpetrator, if found, would be charged. The database containing the leaked information is hosted in The Netherlands, outside of US jurisdiction.[7]
Several hours after the release ICE List was taken down by a direct denial of service attack. It was widely speculated to have originated from Russia. However the site's owner stated that, due to the use of proxies, it was impossible to determine the source. He also stated that an attack of that length was "sophisticated".[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Jump up to: a b c Mallon, Elaine (January 14, 2026). "Report: Whistleblower leaks personal data of DHS and ICE agents to website". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ^ Latchem, Tom (January 13, 2026). "Personal Details of Thousands of Border Patrol and ICE Goons Allegedly Leaked in Huge Data Breach". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ^ Trivedi, Naman (January 14, 2026). "What Is 'ICE List'? Massive Data Leak Exposes Personal Data Of 4,500 DHS And ICE Agents To Doxxing Website". Times Now. Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Baio, Ariana (January 15, 2026). "Website that leaked info about ICE agents is down after 'cyberattack,' founder says". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ^ Caro, Patricia (October 2, 2025). "Controversial 'ICE List' features photos and names of 100 immigration agents". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "'ICE List' doxxing site alleges DHS whistleblower leaked identities of 4,500 agents". Police1. January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Bedigan, Mike (January 14, 2026). "Thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents identified in huge leak". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
External Links
[edit]- 2026 data breaches
- 2026 controversies in the United States
- January 2026 crimes in the United States
- Hacking in the 2020s
- Cyberattacks
- Whistleblowing in the United States
- Second Trump administration controversies
- United States Border Patrol
- United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- United States Department of Homeland Security