A former DOGE employee allegedly stole U.S. Social Security data, including SSNs and personal details, raising concerns about a potential breach involving
Breach Alleged: Former DOGE Employee Stole Americans' Social Security Data
A whistleblower complaint, reported by The Washington Post, alleges that a former employee of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stole personal data from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). According to the report, the individual, who worked as a software engineer at DOGE, told colleagues at his new job that he "possessed two tightly restricted databases of U.S. citizens’ information" and planned to use this data at his new company. The Social Security Administration’s inspector general is currently investigating this claim.
Scope and Impact of the Alleged Breach
The reported databases, "Numident" and the "Master Death File," could potentially contain records for more than 500 million living and deceased Americans, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, citizenship status, race and ethnicity, and parents’ names. The whistleblower claimed to have had unrestricted "God-level" access to the SSA’s systems in the past. This alleged breach is the latest in a series of incidents linking DOGE to potential data breaches at the SSA.
Response from the Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration (SSA) denied any claims of a former employee stealing data on U.S. citizens. A spokesperson for the SSA accused The Washington Post of seeking "clicks and eager to publish fake news to scare seniors." However, the inspector general's office, which operates independently from the Trump administration, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Previous Incidents and DOGE's Role
This is not the first time data breaches have been linked to DOGE and its involvement with the SSA. In January, two DOGE members were suspected of accessing and sharing Social Security numbers that were restricted to them, reportedly to aid an advocacy group aiming to "overturn election results in certain states." Another whistleblower alleged that DOGE members uploaded hundreds of millions of Social Security records to a vulnerable cloud server, putting Americans at risk.
Ongoing Legal and Ethical Concerns
In response to these incidents, a judge blocked DOGE from accessing SSA systems, citing the agency's "essentially engaged in a fishing expedition" in search of fraud. The DOGE members installed at the SSA after Trump took office last year included at least a dozen technical staff or engineers, though their roles and activities were not communicated to the rest of the staff.
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