The website StopICE.net, one of the largest platforms used to track U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, has been hacked. Hackers wiped its database, replaced the site with an image of former ICE director Tom Homan, and claimed they handed user data to federal authorities.
A digital battleground has emerged, and a key tool for activists tracking immigration enforcement has fallen. StopICE.net, a platform designed to monitor and disseminate information about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities, was recently breached in a targeted cyber-attack.
The attack wasn’t subtle. Hackers didn’t simply deface the site; they replaced the entire database with a stark image of Tom Homan, a former ICE director, accompanied by a chilling message: “HELLO STOPICE.NET.” The accompanying text claimed a massive data dump – logins, locations, passwords, and phone numbers – had been delivered directly to the FBI and ICE.
The website, operated by Sherman Austin, an anarchist based in Long Beach, California, has been a central resource for those opposing ICE’s actions. Austin, a musician with a history of activism, previously faced arrest related to inflammatory online content, making the attack particularly pointed.