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CBP Facility Codes Sure Seem to Have Leaked Via Online Flashcards

  • What: Sensitive CBP facility codes leaked via Quizlet flashcards
  • Impact: Confidential security procedures exposed online
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Security Apr 3, 2026 5:00 AM CBP Facility Codes Sure Seem to Have Leaked Via Online Flashcards The Quizlet flashcards, which WIRED found through basic Google searches, seem to include sensitive information about gate security at Customs and Border Protection locations. Photograph: Douglas Rissing/Getty Images Save this story Save this story A user on Quizlet, an online learning platform, created a public flashcard set in February that appears to have exposed highly confidential information about security procedures in US Customs and Border Protection facilities around Kingsville, Texas. The Quizlet set, titled “USBP Review,” was available to the public until March 20, when it was made private less than half an hour after WIRED messaged a phone number potentially linked to the Quizlet user. Though an individual with the user’s name was listed at an address of an apartment less than a mile from a Kingsville CBP facility, WIRED has not been able to verify that the flashcard set was created by an active CBP agent or contractor. “This incident is being reviewed by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility,” a CBP spokesperson wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We will not be getting ahead of this review. A review should not be taken as an indication of wrongdoing.” The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for comment. If the Quizlet set was created by an individual associated with CBP, it represents a serious breach in security for an agency created to “safeguard the American homeland.” The public Quizlet set contained information about alleged codes for specific facility entrances. “Checkpoint doors code?” asked one card, with a specific four-digit combination listed in response. Another asks for the code of a specific gate at the facility, again with an exact combination listed as the answer. Two other gate codes were described in this manner, but WIRED is not using the gate names, because it is unclear if they are confidential. Another series of cards described certain immigration offenses and related federal charges: misuse of a passport, fraud or misuse of a visa, and fleeing from a checkpoint. Cards about voluntary return to countries outside the US, expedited removal, and warrant of removal described forms that needed to be filled out and then offered a reminder about a checklist on something called an “agents Resources Page” to ensure “accuracy of all above.” “We take reports of sensitive or inappropriate content seriously and act promptly when content is found to violate our policies,” a Quizlet spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We encourage anyone who encounters concerning material to report it directly from the flashcard set, class, or profile page, or to contact us so we can review and take appropriate action.” Other cards offered detailed information about the Kingsville workforce’s 1,932-square-mile area of responsibility, including the six county lines, and the agency’s internal grid and zone organizational system. One grid “does not exist,” a card notes, because of the structure of local highways. Another card named the 11 CBP “towers” in the area. (Some of the tower names correspond to the gates and codes that WIRED is withholding due to their potential confidentiality.) The card notes the abbreviated names of two towers and the shared area of responsibility of a third tower. The last card detailed an apparent internal system, “E3 BEST,” that allows officers to “record, investigate and adjudicate secondary referrals at USBP checkpoints” by allowing them to “query subjects and vehicles simultaneously through multiple law enforcement databases and create e3 Events for referrals resulting in an arrest.” This potential exposure of confidential information comes amid a rapid hiring surge at CBP , with up to $60,000 in recruitment and retention incentives available to some new agents. ICE is also seeking to rapidly recruit, with its plan offering a $50,000 signing bonus and up to $60,000 in student loan repayment. Basic keyword searches by WIRED revealed some Quizlet sets that may also have been created by new recruits to various DHS agencies, potentially offering a unique window into the training offered to these new officers and ongoing training offered to their colleagues. One user seemingly associated with ICE, for example, created a Quizlet titled “ICE Detention Standards and Procedures for Deportation Officers.” Another user created a Quizlet titled “Transportation Standards for ICE/ERO Detainees (Excepted Practices),” with cards containing questions like “Detainees shall be transported in a,” with the answer “safe and humane manner, under the supervision of trained and experienced staff” and “Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is,” with the answer “prohibited.” Another user seemingly affiliated with DHS created a Quizlet titled “DHS Insider Threat Training Test Out,” which appears to contain the answer key to an internal training: Questions like “What are the most likely indicators of espionage?” and “Everyone knows if you ‘see something, say something.’ How should you report something to the DHS ITOC?” contain answers like “Both A and C” and “All of the above.” A fourth Quizlet user created over 60 flashcard sets from November 2025 to February 2026 centered around two subjects: US immigration law and immigration-related Spanish vocabulary. The sets begin with basic information—the US Border Patrol–authorized alphabet and radio codes along with the Spanish alphabet—before advancing to more complicated concepts like CBP’s body-worn camera policies and Spanish “block 1 vocabulary” words and phrases like “weapon,” “federal agent,” and “document.” One of the user’s most recent sets created in March, titled “Spanish Vocabulary and Verbs: Day 1 Student Guide,” contained a handful of nouns seemingly taken from DHS recruitment videos: “the nation,” “the security,” and “the homeland.” Comments Back to top You Might Also Like In your inbox: Will Knight's AI Lab explores advances in AI Unmasking the paramilitary agents behind Trump’s immigration crackdown Big Story: Opposing ICE might save the country—or ruin your life Porn stars are embracing AI clones WIRED@Night: Hear Andy Greenberg discuss the facts and fiction of crypto Topics Customs and Border Protection Immigration and Customs Enforcement privacy security cybersecurity immigration Read More DHS Ousts CBP Privacy Officers Who Questioned ‘Illegal’ Orders Department of Homeland Security leaders removed top privacy officers who objected to mislabeling government records to block their public release, WIRED has learned. 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