The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a potentially massive data breach that may have exposed personal information belonging to roughly 40,000 employees and contractors. The reported leak includes thousands of ICE and Border Patrol personnel, along with several undercover agents.

Sources familiar with the data told Fox News that the exposed information may include names, titles, locations and, in some cases, phone numbers and email addresses. Those sources described the incident as a “catastrophic” security failure.

Approximately 10,000 ICE personnel may be included in the compromised records, according to the sources. The data also contains records associated with more than 20,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees, including Border Patrol personnel.

Multiple sources confirmed that portions of the leaked material are authentic. Fox News also independently confirmed that the records contain the names of several undercover ICE agents working in different areas of the country.

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Distributed Denial of Secrets, a website that publishes leaked data, said Wednesday that it had released information about the employees. A hacking group calling itself the “Department of Peace” claimed responsibility for obtaining the material.

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The scope of the potential breach raises serious questions because the reported data reaches across major Homeland Security agencies. The exposure of undercover agents adds another layer to an incident already involving tens of thousands of government employees and contractors.

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Homeland Security acknowledged the situation but did not provide additional details about how the data was obtained. The department said it was moving to address the potential breach and protect affected personnel.

“DHS is aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively,” a department spokesperson told Fox News.

“We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected,” the statement continued. “We will update the public when more information is available.”

The department’s response came after portions of the information were authenticated and records naming undercover ICE personnel were confirmed. The available statement did not identify the source of the potential breach or describe any specific protective measures.

Emma Best, a founder of Distributed Denial of Secrets, said in a statement that a tool had been created to let members of the public search the data. Best said the tool would “replace anonymity with accountability.”

The Department of Peace argued in its own statement that Homeland Security employees “have our information, so it's only fair that we have theirs.” The group also said it hoped the data “can be used to limit further harm by the DHS and supports all efforts in that direction.”

The reported Homeland Security breach arrives amid broader concerns about the security of government personnel records. Another breach involving a Pentagon personnel database was disclosed last month, exposing sensitive personal information belonging to more than 2.76 million living U.S. military and civilian personnel.

That separate Pentagon breach also affected records connected to 294,000 deceased individuals. A Pentagon official previously confirmed to Fox News that unauthorized users accessed unencrypted files between October 2025 and July 2026.

Those Pentagon files contained Social Security numbers and information about military or civilian employment. The Homeland Security investigation now centers on another large collection of personnel data, including contact details, job titles, locations, and the identities of agents whose work was undercover.

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