ICE Is Paying a Controversial AI Firm to Hide the Identities of Agents

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has initiated a new program called the "Doxing Mitigation Initiative," utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) from a controversial firm, ZeroFox. This announcement was made through an internal email to all agency employees on Monday, signed by Acting ICE Director David Venturella. The email was later leaked to The Intercept by ICE employees.

ZeroFox, a company specializing in protective technology solutions, is tasked with safeguarding the identities of ICE personnel. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE's parent agency, has entered a $15 million contract with ZeroFox in July for software licenses to support ICE operations and investigations.

ZeroFox's AI-driven software is designed to monitor and protect digital presence across social media and the dark web. The company's official website claims that it "never stops finding, mapping, and monitoring your digital presence." However, it remains unclear precisely how the new initiative will function, and both ICE and ZeroFox have not responded to requests for comment.

An ICE official, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, expressed concern that ZeroFox's technology could be used to identify and expose whistleblowers and critics of the Trump administration. They fear that if "things go sideways, they may just throw all your info out there, make you out to be the problem or dox you." This official doubts the trustworthiness of ZeroFox.

Richard Forno, associate director of the cybersecurity institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, acknowledged that it is not surprising for ICE to contract with AI companies, given their "checkered histories." He suggested that the technology could be used to seek out whistleblowers, for example, by setting up a "honey pot situation" where leaked information is passed along to a reporter, identifying leakers.

Forno also noted that the White House has previously labeled critics as "terrorists" or "extremists" on broad terms.

ZeroFox has previously used its technology to identify and categorize individuals engaged in political activism, including during the 2015 Baltimore unrest following the police killing of Freddie Gray and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In the past, ZeroFox offered its services to Baltimore officials for free, initially labeling peaceful Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest organizers as "physical threats."

The FBI has also struggled to identify online extremist activity using its recently acquired ZeroFox technology, which agents referred to derisively with a nickname involving replacement of 'Fox' with a similar-sounding expletive. The relationship between ICE and ZeroFox, according to the leaked memo, focuses on detecting online information that could identify or "dox" ICE employees.