Sure enough, CBP facility codes have leaked via online flashcards

User on Quizlet, an online learning platform, created a public flashcard deck in February that appears to have revealed top-secret information about security procedures at U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities around Kingsville, Texas.

The Quizlet collection, titled “USP Review,” was publicly available until March 20, when it went private less than a half-hour after WIRED sent a message with a phone number potentially linked to a Quizlet user. Although the user’s name was listed at the address of an apartment less than a mile from the Kingsville CBP facility, WIRED was unable to verify that the flashcard set was created by an active CBP agent or contractor.

“This incident is being reviewed by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility,” a CBP spokesperson wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We will not preempt this review. The review should not be taken as an indicator of wrongdoing.”

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

If the Quizlet group was created by an individual associated with CBP, it represents a serious breach of the security of an agency created to “protect the American homeland.”

The public Quizlet group contains information about the alleged codes for entrances to specific facilities. “Checkpoint doors code?” I requested one card, with a specific combination of four numbers listed in the response. Another asks for the code of a particular gate at the facility, again with the exact combination listed as the answer. Two other portal codes are described in this way, but WIRED does not use portal names, because it is unclear whether they are secret or not.

Another series of cards describe certain immigration crimes and related federal charges: passport abuse, visa fraud or abuse, and checkpoint escape. Cards related to voluntary return to countries outside the United States, expedited removal, and removal order described the forms that must be filled out and then offered a reminder about a checklist on a so-called “Agent Resource Page” to ensure “all of the above are accurate.”

“We take reports of sensitive or inappropriate content seriously and act immediately when content is found to violate our policies,” a Quizlet spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We encourage anyone who encounters related material to report it directly from the flashcard deck, classroom, or profile page, or to contact us so we can review and take appropriate action.”

Other cards displayed detailed information about Kingsville’s 1,932-square-mile workforce area of ​​responsibility, including the six district lines, the agency’s intranet, and the area’s regulatory system. One card indicates that a network is “non-existent”, due to the structure of local highways.

Another card names the 11 CBP “towers” ​​in the area. (Some of the tower names correspond to portals and symbols that WIRED is withholding due to their potential secrecy.) The card indicates the abbreviated names of two towers and the area of ​​shared responsibility for a third.

The final card details a clear internal system, “E3 BEST,” that allows officers to “record, investigate and adjudicate secondary referrals at USBP checkpoints” by allowing them to “query people and vehicles simultaneously through multiple law enforcement databases and generate e3 events for referrals that lead to an arrest.”

This potential disclosure of classified information comes amid a rapid increase in hiring at CBP, with up to $60,000 in recruitment and retention incentives available for some new agents. ICE is also seeking to hire quickly, with its plan offering a $50,000 signing bonus and up to $60,000 in student loan repayment.