DOGE improperly shared sensitive social security data, DOJ court filing reveals
2 months ago
- #election-integrity
- #data-privacy
- #government-misconduct
- Trump administration admits employees under Elon Musk's 'Department of Government Efficiency' (Doge) improperly accessed and shared Americans' sensitive social security data.
- A secret data-sharing agreement was signed with an unidentified political advocacy group aiming to find voter fraud evidence and overturn election results.
- Social Security Administration (SSA) discovered the unauthorized agreement during an unrelated review and referred potential Hatch Act violations for investigation.
- Doge members used unauthorized third-party servers (Cloudflare) to share data, with unclear details on what information was transmitted or if it still exists.
- A Doge staffer sent an encrypted file containing names and addresses of ~1,000 people from social security systems to a senior adviser; contents remain unconfirmed.
- SSA previously denied any data compromise despite whistleblower warnings about unsafe data storage practices.
- A federal lawsuit led to temporary restrictions on Doge's data access, citing a 'fishing expedition' for fraud without evidence; later lifted by the Supreme Court.
- Democratic lawmakers call for prosecutions, citing violations of public trust and confirming a whistleblower's earlier claims.
- Doge members accessed additional systems (employee records, shared workspaces) beyond what was disclosed to the court, enabling unauthorized data exchanges.
- Reports reveal Doge operatives secretly recorded meetings, monitored computer activity, and used AI tools to detect disloyalty, creating a hostile work environment.
- Doge, launched to uncover social security fraud, found no widespread waste or abuse in retirement/disability programs.