An Icelandic internet company, FlokiNET, defended the publication of the data as satisfying a “legitimate” public interest.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked an Icelandic web hosting company to remove a site containing information on tens of thousands of its employees.
On Thursday, Icelandic company FlokiNET published a letter it received from cybersecurity company ZeroFox, on behalf of DHS.
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The letter accused FlokiNET of violating its terms of service by publishing a set of “stolen” employee data and asked it to “delete or deactivate” this information.
“The content is live and places more than 40,000 identifiable individuals at risk of harassment, stalking, and physical violence,” the letter states.
FlokiNET said the letter concerned a domain, icepi.cx, that compiled information on employees of various DHS agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
These agencies have been under close scrutiny since President Donald Trump’s 2025 mass deportation campaign began.
But the Trump administration has often refused to identify DHS agents involved in specific operations, citing security risks.
Although FlokiNET said it refused to comply with the DHS request, it noted that the website’s registrar ultimately suspended the domain. Employee information has since been moved to a different area.
In a statement posted online, FlokiNET defended its decision not to remove the site.
“Federal agents who carry out an enforcement program are not private individuals when they implement it,” the company said. “The public has a legitimate interest in knowing who does this work, under what authority and in what capacity. »
The database was first posted online Wednesday by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), a group that exposes government data leaks.
In the past, DDoSecrets has published emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as information from the Israeli Ministry of Justice and United States law enforcement agencies.
A hacker group calling itself “Department of Peace” has claimed responsibility for obtaining and sharing DHS data.
Since the database was first published, other groups have spread the information elsewhere, including on sites like icepi.cx. As a result, it is unlikely that the information will be removed from the Internet entirely.
The Trump administration, however, has taken an aggressive approach toward online platforms believed to contain information about ICE employees and other agents involved in immigration operations.
Last year, for example, the U.S. Department of Justice pressured tech giants like Apple to remove apps that track ICE agents, including one called ICEBlock.
The move drew backlash from Democrats and free speech advocates, who argued the public had a right to report on ICE’s movements.
“Blocking access to these apps at the request of the federal government raises the possibility that Apple is working with the government to violate its customers’ First Amendment rights to record and report on their government’s activities,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote in a letter last year, asking Apple to reconsider its decision.
Immigration officers, meanwhile, took several measures to conceal their identities during operations, including wearing masks or street clothes.
That lack of transparency has drawn criticism from human rights groups and immigration advocates, who say they have little recourse to pursue allegations of excessive force or impropriety during ICE raids.
Since Trump was sworn in for a second term, at least 25 people have been shot by immigration agents. Six of these shootings resulted in deaths.
Other cases involved alleged violations of civil liberties — including unlawful arrests and racial profiling — as well as controversial tactics such as vehicular attacks and tackles.
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