The personal information of approximately 40,000 employees under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been leaked in a cyberattack, BBC News and Reuters reported on the 28th (local time).

The U.S. non-profit organization "The DDoSecrets" published the DHS employee data on its website that day.

The leaked data includes the names, work addresses, phone numbers, and job duties of about 41,000 DHS employees, including roughly 21,000 from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and 6,600 from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Information on agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Protective Service (FPS), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was also exposed.

Notably, dozens of previously unknown operation names and the agents who carried them out were revealed, alongside technical details used in operations, including technologies provided by Cellebrite and Palantir.

DDoSecrets stated that the data was compiled based on information secured by a group called the "Department of Peace" and a hacker named Maia Crimeu.

Emma Best, co-founder of DDoSecrets, claimed that the purpose of this data leak is to "replace anonymity with accountability."

She stated, "The leaked materials reveal officials responsible for secret and undercover operations, government efforts to hunt down internal whistleblowers, and key figures behind the increasingly intensive immigrant deportation program."

She added that Crimeu has developed a search tool accessible to the general public, and that this data will strengthen the capabilities of the press and congressional oversight.

The claim is that the hack was aimed at monitoring the administration.

The BBC noted that this incident marks the third cyberattack targeting a U.S. government agency.

Last month, a hacker group known as "ShinyHunters" hacked the FBI, stealing the personal information of thousands of current and former agents and job applicants.

Recently, the website of the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC), which discloses political donation records, experienced service outages due to suspected hacking attempts.

DHS said in a statement, "We are aware of the potential data breach and are actively working to address the situation swiftly."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)