US Government Targets 'Icepick' Data Leak of DHS Employees
The U.S. government is actively working to remove a trove of sensitive data, dubbed 'Icepick,' containing personal information of over 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees from the internet.
The U.S. government is engaged in an aggressive campaign to scrub a significant data leak, known as 'Icepick,' from the internet. This trove reportedly contains the personal details of more than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees, including undercover operatives and key policy figures. The operation involves cybersecurity firms issuing takedown notices to domain registrars and social media platforms to block access to the data and any links sharing it.
A hacktivist group calling itself the Department of Peace claimed responsibility for obtaining the 165-megabyte dataset. They shared the information with Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), a U.S. nonprofit transparency organization, and a hacktivist known as 'maia arson crimew.' This individual developed an online search tool, initially hosted at icepi.cx, to make the data easily searchable. Journalist Emma Best, a co-founder of DDoSecrets, highlighted that the leak includes information on "architects and drivers of DHS policy and operations," notably mentioning the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
The search tool, icepi.cx, was taken offline but quickly resurfaced on a new domain, icepicx.is. Maia arson crimew announced the move on social media, stating that "zerofox and dhs can't keep us down forever." DDoSecrets also released the source code for the searchable website as a .zip archive and distributed it via the Torrent peer-to-peer network, further complicating efforts to fully eradicate the data.
DHS has reportedly enlisted the services of ZeroFox, a Baltimore-based cybersecurity firm, to manage the takedown efforts. TechCrunch reported that ZeroFox has been sending takedown notices to domain registrars, requesting that they "stop serving the personal contact and location data of individuals who did not consent to its publication." This initiative appears to be part of a broader "Doxing Mitigation Initiative" contracted by ICE, which began on July 13, 2026, with significant funding allocated through July 2027.
Users attempting to access links to the data on social media platforms like Bluesky have reported encountering blocks, with the site flagging the links as "malicious." ZeroFox's risk assessment noted the "harassment and physical-safety risk to named personnel is very likely" due to the data's public and searchable nature, which includes cell phone numbers and office locations.
This incident follows a previous data leak by the Department of Peace in March 2026, which targeted DHS contractor records. The ongoing efforts to suppress the 'Icepick' data underscore the government's concern over the exposure of sensitive personnel information and the potential ramifications for national security and individual safety.