A hacktivist group named “Department of Peace” has claimed responsibility for hacking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has leaked documents they allegedly obtained online.
On Sunday, the nonprofit transparency organization DDoSecrets released information concerning contracts between DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and more than 6,000 businesses, including defense contractors such as Anduril, L3Harris, Raytheon, surveillance provider Palantir, as well as major tech companies Microsoft and Oracle.
According to the hacktivists, the data was sourced from the Office of Industry Partnership, a division within DHS that acquires technology from the private sector.
DHS and ICE did not immediately provide comments on the situation.
Department of Peace outlined their rationale in a document accompanying the hack, referencing the recent deaths of two peaceful protestors, U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good, earlier this year in Minneapolis by federal agents.
“Why hack the DHS? I can think of a couple Pretti Good reasons! 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 hackers stated.
Since the onset of the Trump administration, DHS and ICE have conducted mass deportations, arresting individuals largely without criminal records and holding them in overcrowded facilities where critics claim they endure inhumane conditions. This campaign has been aided by several tech firms, with Palantir being prominent.
Security researcher Micah Lee made the leaked data accessible on a dedicated website, organizing the information to be easily searchable.
The site provides the names of contractors, the amounts they were awarded, and their contact details such as full names, email addresses, and phone numbers.
The largest contracts by total awarded money included $70 million for Cyber Apex Solutions, which claims to focus on “filling the security gaps of critical infrastructure” in the U.S.; and $59 million for Science Applications International Corporation, which offers AI services for government agencies. Underwriters Laboratories received $29 million to supply testing, certification, and market intelligence to customers.
Cyber Apex Solutions, SAIC, and Underwriters Laboratories did not immediately respond to requests for comment.