Whistleblower: DOGE put Social Security data at risk
By: Joey Garrison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - Personal information of more than 300 million Americans is at risk of being leaked or hacked after employees of the Department of Government Efficiency uploaded a sensitive Social Security databases to a vulnerable cloud server, the Social Security Administration;s chief data officer said in a whistleblower complaint.
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DOGE's actions have effectively cerated " a live copy of the entire country's Social Security information," lawyers for Chief Data Officer Charles Borges allege in the August 26 [2025] complaint, which contends the information is on a server that lacks security oversight and a way to track who has accessed the data.
..... The data - which Borges said was copied to a server hat only DOGE employees could access - includes all information required to apply for a Social Security card: Social Security numbers, names of the applicants, places and dates of birth, parents' names, race and ethnicities, citizenship, and other personal information.
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Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for re-issuing every American a new Social Security Number at great cost," attorneys for Borges warn in the complaint, which was filed by the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection group.
..... The complaint, reported first by The New York Times, cites possible violations of Social Security protocols and federal privacy laws. the complaint was addressed to the U.S. Office of Special counsel and committee leaders in the House of Representatives.
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The White House refereed USA Today to the Social Security Administration when asked to comment.
..... A spokesperson for the department, in a statement, said the agency and its commissioner Frank Bisignano,"take all whistleblower complaints seriously" but the concerns raised by Borges.
..... "The data referenced in the complaint is stored in a long-standing environment use by SSA and walled off form the Internet," the statement said.
"High-level career SSA officials have administrative access to this system with oversight by SSA's Information Security team. We are not aware of any compromise to this environment and remain dedicated to protecting sensitive personal data."
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Boregs' complaint says former DOGE employee John Solly on June 10 [2025] requested the Social Security data by transferred to the new cloud server, and given the sensitivity of the data, cybersecurity officials within the department raised concerns.
..... "Unauthorized access to the (data) would be considered catastrophic impact to SSA beneficialness and SSA programs," one warning says.
..... Arm Moghaddassi, the SSA's chief information officer, on June 15 [2025] authorized a "provisional Authorization to Operate" to upload the data to the cloud. He wrote that, "I have determined the business needs is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks associated with this implementation and operation," the complaint says.
..... The request was later approved by another DOGE employee, Michael Russo, on June 26, [2025] bypassing the agency's rules and protocols, according to Borges.