Bluesky blocks links to leaked DHS employee data as government seeks takedowns

The social networking site is facing criticism for blocking access to the site, which identifies thousands of ICE agents and other employees working for Homeland Security. Following a sizable leak of personnel data about employees who work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, social network Bluesky is now blocking its users from accessing a nonprofit’s website that hosts the leaked dataset. Users reported that the links to nonprofit transparency collective DDoSecrets were marked as “malicious” soon after TechCrunch and other media outlets broke the news that Homeland Security had been hacked. TechCrunch reported on Wednesday that a hacker obtained over 40,000 user account records from Homeland Security’s login system, including the names and contact information, such as work-issued phone numbers and email addresses, of employees and agents working for its various agencies like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The data included information that was similar to that on an employee’s business card. DDoSecrets, which publishes leaked data sets in the public interest, also made the hacked data publicly available. Researchers who are investigating abuses by the Trump administration say that the data will be invaluable for seeking records from the government under public records laws. A spokesperson for Homeland Security told TechCrunch on Wednesday that it was “aware of a potential breach and