Story perspectives

CBP Misused Law-Enforcement Databases, FOIA Finds 300 Allegations

8/13/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees and contractors misused law-enforcement databases, WIRED reports.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) records 2009-2022 list nearly 300 allegations, including 99 breaches and 48 improper queries.
CBP logged 138 complaints for review, 78 for OPR, 43 as “Information Only,” and 21 as withheld investigations.
A DHS employee allegedly used location data to track coworkers’ phones, marking the first internal abuse of that data.

1 of 1

Story summary

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees and contractors misused law-enforcement databases, WIRED reports.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) records 2009-2022 list nearly 300 allegations, including 99 breaches and 48 improper queries.
CBP logged 138 complaints for review, 78 for OPR, 43 as “Information Only,” and 21 as withheld investigations.
A DHS employee allegedly used location data to track coworkers’ phones, marking the first internal abuse of that data.