A whistleblower has accused the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of mishandling sensitive Social Security data. Charles Borges, the chief data officer at the Social Security Administration (SSA), filed a complaint through the Government Accountability Project. According to Borges, DOGE officials copied the entire country’s Social Security information from the Numerical Identification System (NUMIDENT) database to a cloud environment.
This environment allegedly lacks proper security oversight and tracking. The complaint states that if bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans could be at risk of widespread identity theft and loss of vital benefits. The government might even need to reissue new Social Security numbers to every American at a great cost.
An email from July 15 shows that DOGE-embedded SSA Chief Information Officer Aram Moghaddassi approved the project despite the security risks.
Data mishandling risks identified
Moghaddassi, who was previously involved with Elon Musk’s companies, wrote, “I have determined the business need is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks associated with this implementation and operation.”
The Trump Administration created DOGE after winning the 2024 presidential election, aiming to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the government.
However, DOGE quickly faced criticism for mishandling critical issues like Social Security data. Borges and the Government Accountability Project are now urging Congress to investigate the matter. The SSA has issued a statement asserting that the data remains secure in a long-standing environment used by the agency and walled off from the internet.
This complaint is the latest in a series of allegations against DOGE and Trump officials concerning the mishandling of sensitive personal information. Internal warnings about the risks involved in transferring such a large volume of personal data were detailed in an SSA risk assessment form. Despite these warnings, the data transfer proceeded with approval from former DOGE employees and the SSA’s Chief Information Officer, who had previous ties to DOGE.
