Hackers Allegedly Target DHS, DOJ Staff Directories

A pro-Palestinian Twitter account posted a Department of Homeland Security staff directory of 9,372 employees online, and then the person or persons behind the account claimed they would publish online the staff directory of more than 20,000 FBI personnel as well.  

The DHS staff directory includes the name, title, email address, and phone number of employees, according to CSO Online.  The titles “range from engineers, to security specialists, program analysts, InfoSec and IT, all the way up to director level,” CSO Online reported, adding that “more than 100 staffers are listed with an Intelligence related title.”

According to Reuters, the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant media activity and propaganda online, confirmed the DHS hack. SITE said that the data breach was similar to earlier ones linked to a group called “Crackas with Attitude,” which was credited with attacks targeting CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Deputy Director Mark Giuliano and the Miami Police Department, Reuters reported.

 “We are looking into the reports of purported disclosure of DHS employee contact information,” S.Y. Lee, a DHS spokesman, told Reuters. “We take these reports very seriously; however, there is no indication at this time that there is any breach of sensitive or personally identifiable information.”

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr told Reuters, “The department is looking into the unauthorized access of a system operated by one of its components containing employee contact information.”