<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="has-underline">U.S. Immigration and Customs</span> Enforcement (ICE) is launching a new initiative called the "Doxing Mitigation Initiative" that employs artificial intelligence to help protect the identities of its personnel, as detailed in an internal email sent to agency employees on Monday.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The memo, signed by Acting ICE Director David Venturella and obtained by The Intercept, identifies ZeroFox as the technology firm responsible for this initiative. The memo describes ZeroFox as a protective technology solution aimed at enhancing safeguards for ICE employees and their families.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, entered into a $15 million contract with ZeroFox in July for software licenses intended to support ICE operations and investigations, according to public procurement records. These records indicate that ZeroFox will provide services for the Office of Intelligence within ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ZeroFox specializes in AI-driven software designed to prevent data leaks on social media and the dark web, as stated on its website. However, the specifics of how the new initiative will operate remain unclear, and both ICE and ZeroFox did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">An anonymous ICE official expressed concerns about the potential for the technology to be used for internal surveillance, stating, "It sounds like inside surveillance." The official also raised worries that the technology could be used to target whistleblowers and critics of the agency.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Richard Forno, associate director of the cybersecurity institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, noted that it is not surprising for ICE to engage with AI companies that have controversial backgrounds. He suggested that the technology could be employed to identify whistleblowers if information leaks occur.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ZeroFox has previously provided its services to Baltimore officials, identifying individuals engaged in political activism, including during protests following the 2015 police killing of Freddie Gray and the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, acknowledged that while it is reasonable for individuals to want to protect their personal information online, there are concerns if the initiative is intended to shield ICE from public accountability.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some ICE personnel have reportedly used third-party services to maintain their privacy. An anonymous ICE official expressed distrust in providing personally identifiable information to a company with a questionable track record in government contracts.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ZeroFox is owned by Haveli Investments, a private equity firm that acquired the company for approximately $350 million in 2024. Bryan Ware, a former cybersecurity assistant director at the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration, is currently an executive at ZeroFox.</p>