Bluesky has blocked links to a nonprofit website hosting leaked US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee records, citing concerns about unauthorized sharing of personal information. The restriction follows reports that a hacker obtained more than 40,000 account records from the department’s login system, including contact details belonging to federal employees and agents.
The stolen records reportedly contain names, work-issued phone numbers, and email addresses associated with employees of several DHS agencies, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The nonprofit transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) subsequently published the dataset, prompting Bluesky to restrict links to the organization’s website.
Bluesky Cites Privacy and Safety Concerns
Users reported that Bluesky began labeling links to DDoSecrets as “malicious” shortly after news of the breach became public on October 28. Bluesky chief operating officer Rose Wang said the platform’s community guidelines prohibit unauthorized sharing of personal information that could create safety risks.
Wang explained that Bluesky chose to block links to the dataset rather than remove individual posts, allowing discussions and reporting about the incident to remain accessible. In a post on Bluesky, she also acknowledged that the warning message needed clearer wording and said changes were being prepared.
DDoSecrets co-founder and journalist Emma Best disputed the decision, arguing that the dataset contains professional government contact information rather than home addresses or personal contact details. Best said these records are relevant to researchers seeking government documents through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which can require identifying information about public officials.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it was aware of a potential breach and was working to address the situation. The department did not provide further details about the investigation.
Homeland Security Issues Takedown Notice for Searchable Database
A separate website called Icepick, created by journalist maia arson crimew to make the leaked records searchable, became inaccessible on October 29. Domain records showed a “serverHold” status, which generally indicates that a domain has been suspended or restricted by its registrar.
Homeland Security issued a takedown notice through cybersecurity company ZeroFox, which is authorized to act on the department’s behalf through 2028. The notice requested removal of the website because it published contact and location information without the affected individuals’ consent.
According to TechCrunch, the domain provider CentralNic did not respond to questions about whether the suspension resulted from a government request. ZeroFox also did not respond, while DHS provided no further comment about the notice affecting the Icepick website.
The website’s creator, maia arson crimew, also released a version of the database that users could run locally on their computers. The searchable database subsequently reappeared at another domain, according to Reuters.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.