Ethical Hacking News
CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues, according to records obtained by WIRED. The misuse includes querying data to look up romantic interests, monitoring family members, exposing personal information, and providing intelligence to suspected smugglers or drug-trafficking organizations. The records reveal a decade-long history of abuse of power and lack of accountability within the agency.
CBP employees allegedly used government databases to spy on exes, crushes, and colleagues. Misuse includes querying data to look up romantic interests, monitoring family members, exposing personal information, and providing intelligence to suspected smugglers or drug-trafficking organizations. Allegations date back to 2009 and span over a decade, with some cases involving CBP officers contacting flight attendants or asking out colleagues using trusted-traveler applications. The misuse of government databases is part of a larger trend of abuse of power and lack of accountability within the agency, according to experts. The widespread use of commercial tools like Palantir's Investigative Case Management system raises concerns about erosion of civil liberties and potential for further abuses.
CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues
Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.
The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a long history of impunity and abuse of people's civil and human rights. According to records obtained by WIRED, CBP employees have been accused of misusing government databases for reasons that had nothing to do with their jobs. The misuse includes querying data to look up romantic interests, monitoring family members, exposing personal information, and providing intelligence to suspected smugglers or drug-trafficking organizations.
These allegations date back to 2009 and span more than a decade. In one case, a CBP officer allegedly used government databases to contact a flight attendant. In another, an officer was accused of pulling information from trusted-traveler applications to ask people out. Other CBP employees were accused of providing border-crossing data to someone involved in a “heated divorce.” And yet another DHS employee allegedly used controversial ad-tech-derived location data to track several coworkers’ cell phones.
The records reveal that the misuse of government databases by CBP employees is not an isolated incident. Rather, it is part of a larger trend of abuse of power and lack of accountability within the agency. According to Laura Rivera, an attorney with Just Futures Law, “Customs and Border Protection has a long history of impunity and abuse of people's civil and human rights.” She added that accountability for their wrongdoing has been elusive, and the dynamic involving the abuse of data is simply another aspect of that.
The misuse of government databases by CBP employees is also part of a broader trend of surveillance and data collection within the US government. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has built one of the largest surveillance systems in the world, with extensive databases that store everything from fingerprints to travel records to case files.
CBP's TECS system integrates watch lists that everyone gets screened against when crossing the border, while the Central Index System tracks naturalization applications. The SENTRI program moves prescreened, low-risk travelers through the border faster in exchange for their personal and travel data. Palantir's Investigative Case Management system serves as a case-management platform for Homeland Security Investigations.
CBP also taps into commercial tools like Thomson Reuters' Consolidated Lead Evaluation and Reporting, which repackages disparate data sources into a surveillance tool for law enforcement. The agency has also developed its own mobile data extraction software to pull data straight off a person's phone. Commercial telemetry data has become one of the most controversial forms of law-enforcement surveillance because it lets the government buy access to location information generated by ordinary apps.
The widespread misuse of government databases by CBP employees and other DHS agencies raises concerns about the erosion of civil liberties and the potential for abuse of power. According to Jacinta González, a leader at Mijente, “A lot of these tech oligarchs have gone from being part of a revolving door between industry and government to having a corner office in terms of designing and enforcing a regime of violence and exclusion—and a very political one.”
The records obtained by WIRED also highlight the lack of accountability within the agency. In many cases, CBP withheld or left blank the case resolution, making it difficult to determine how often allegations were substantiated or whether employees faced discipline at all.
In response to WIRED's findings, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson says that the agency takes allegations regarding misconduct seriously and works to “uphold the rule of law and hold ourselves accountable.” However, the records obtained by WIRED suggest that more needs to be done to address the issue of misuse of government databases and ensure accountability within the agency.
In conclusion, the misuse of government databases by CBP employees is a serious issue that highlights the need for greater accountability and transparency within the agency. The widespread abuse of power and lack of oversight raise concerns about the erosion of civil liberties and the potential for further abuses.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Abuse-of-Power-A-Decade-Long-History-of-CBP-Employees-Misusing-Government-Databases-ehn.shtml
https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-workers-allegedly-used-government-databases-to-spy-on-exes-crushes-and-colleagues/
https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-workers-allegedly-used-government-databases-to-spy-on-exes-crushes-and-colleagues/?utm_social-type=owned
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-10300419/Secret-Border-Patrol-unit-used-sensitive-databases-spy-citizens-including-20-journalists.html
Published: Thu Aug 13 04:59:42 2026 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
