ICE/DHS hacked, all contractors exposed
A massive data breach targeting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has exposed the details of over 6,000 entities that have applied for or secured contracts with the agency and its subsidiary, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The leak, which was first reported by the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), identifies 6,681 organizations ranging from global defense giants and Silicon Valley tech firms to dozens of prominent universities and other government agencies.
A Sophisticated Breach
The data was reportedly exfiltrated from the DHS’s Office of Industry Partnership (OIP). A group calling itself the “Department of Peace” has claimed responsibility for the hack. In a manifesto accompanying the release, the group stated that their primary motivation was to provide transparency regarding the corporate and institutional infrastructure that supports DHS and ICE operations.
“I’m releasing this because the DHS is killing us and people deserve to know which companies support them and what they’re working on,” the source stated.
Corporate Giants and Academic Institutions Exposed
The leaked documents provide a comprehensive look at the “ICE ecosystem.” Among the most notable private firms listed in the breach are:
- Defense and Surveillance: Raytheon, L3Harris, and Anduril.
- Data Analytics: Palantir and Oracle.
- Tech Infrastructure: Microsoft and HBGary.
Beyond private corporations, the data reveals the extent of DHS’s reach into the public sector. The list includes the FBI, NASA, and dozens of universities that have engaged with the agency for research or services. While the hackers noted they take “no issue” with entities like NASA or water safety organizations, they argued that these institutions “likewise deserve to know that they’re part of the breach.”
Non-Public Contract Details Revealed
The leak consists of two primary datasets. The first is a comprehensive list of every organization that has applied for a contract through the OIP. The second, and perhaps more sensitive list, details which of those companies successfully won contracts and specific information regarding the nature of their work.
According to the hackers, much of the information in the second list does not appear in the public-facing sections of the DHS website, providing an unprecedented look into the behind-the-scenes procurement process of the U.S. government’s domestic security apparatus.
Implications for DHS
The breach marks a significant security failure for the Office of Industry Partnership, a portal designed to facilitate collaboration between the government and the private sector. By exposing the contact details and contract statuses of thousands of partners, the hack has potentially compromised the privacy of thousands of employees and the operational security of various ongoing projects.
The DHS has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the validity of the claims or the extent of the security compromise.
The data has been mirrored on several platforms, including a dedicated site hosted by security researcher Micah Lee, making the information easily searchable for journalists and activists. As the “Department of Peace” source concluded in their message: “What you do with this data is entirely up to you.”
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