Hacktivists claim to have hacked the Department of Homeland Security to release ICE contract data

A group of hackers calling themselves the “Department of Peace” claimed to have hacked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), leaking allegedly stolen documents online.

On Sunday, the transparency nonprofit collective DDoSecrets published data related to contracts between the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and more than 6,000 companies, including defense contractors Anduril, L3Harris, Raytheon, and surveillance provider Palantir, as well as tech giants Microsoft and Oracle.

The hacker activist said the data comes from the Office of Industry Partnerships, a unit within the Department of Homeland Security that purchases technology from the private sector.

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Department of Peace explained its motives in a document alongside the breach, citing the recent killing of two peaceful protesters, US citizens Alex Peretti and Renee Judd, earlier this year in Minneapolis by federal agents.

“Why hack DHS? I can think of two good reasons for Brittie! I’m posting this because DHS is killing us and people deserve to know what companies are supporting them and what they’re working on,” the hackers wrote.

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security and federal immigration agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have undertaken a campaign of mass deportations, arresting people who largely have no criminal records and detaining them in overcrowded facilities where critics say they are being held in inhumane conditions. The mass migration campaign has been supported by several technology companies, with Palantir at the forefront.

Security researcher Micah Lee organized the leaked data on a dedicated website, making the information easily searchable.

The website displays the names of contractors, the amount of money they were awarded, as well as contact information, such as full names, email addresses, and phone numbers.

The largest contracts in terms of total money awarded included $70 million to Cyber ​​Apex Solutions, a company that claims on its minimalist website to be “focused on closing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure” in the United States; and $59 million to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which provides artificial intelligence services to government agencies. Underwriters Laboratories was awarded $29 million to provide testing, certification and market information to customers.

Cyber ​​Apex Solution, SAIC and Underwriters Laboratories did not immediately respond to a request for comment.