A technology mishap inside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) briefly left sensitive intelligence records open to people who were never supposed to see them. The issue, which lasted for several weeks in 2023, involved the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) — a platform where intelligence analysts share unclassified but sensitive reports with select government partners.
The restricted section of HSIN, known as HSIN-Intel, is designed for law enforcement agencies and national security officials who require access to intelligence leads and analyses. However, due to a misconfiguration, access controls were set incorrectly, making the files visible to the entire network rather than just the authorized users. As a result, thousands of individuals, including government employees in unrelated departments, private contractors, and even some foreign officials were able to view materials meant for a much smaller audience.
An internal review later revealed that 439 intelligence products were exposed during this period, with unauthorized users opening them more than 1,500 times. While many of the users were from within the United States, the inquiry confirmed that several foreign accounts also accessed the data. Nearly 40 percent of the leaked material related to cybersecurity, including reports on state-sponsored hacking groups and foreign attempts to infiltrate government IT systems. Other exposed content included law enforcement tips, assessments of disinformation campaigns, and files mentioning protest activ
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