"DotGovs" hacking group says it also plans to leak data on 20,000 FBI employees
Hackers released the names, positions, phone numbers and email addresses of more than 9,000 alleged Department of Homeland Security employees Sunday after breaching a private network at the Department of Justice.
The group claiming responsibility, known as “DotGovs,” first alerted Infowars to the alleged intrusion late last month by presenting a screenshot they say was captured prior to entering a DOJ system.
Sending out a sample of the data over social media moments later, the group also told Infowars that it had obtained information on 20,000 FBI employees – which they plan to release Monday – before multiple screenshots were removed by Twitter.
Examining the list of 9,372 alleged DHS employees released on Sunday, Infowars was able to confirm the legitimacy of several entries.
Although some numbers appeared to be dead ends, reaching names and agencies not matching those from the leak, several answering machines did coincide with the hackers’ list.
Speaking with Infowars over encrypted communications, one of the group’s members stated simply that the hack was done for “freepalestine.”As Sunday evening rolled on, the group continued by mocking the DOJ’s security in a series of tweets.
A screenshot accompanying one such tweet appeared to show several drives from a DOJ computer holding information such as “Litigation Support.”
Another screenshot shows “Civil Division Announcements” seemingly originating from the back end of a DOJ system.
According to one of DotGovs’ members, the hackers remained inside the DOJ’s system for an entire week before being noticed on Sunday.The group’s modus operandi is similar to that seen in other recent high-profile hacks which targeted everyone from CIA Director John Brennan to White House Science Czar John P. Holdren.Despite reaching out to the DOJ and DHS on January 31 for comment, Infowars has not yet heard back from either agency.
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