DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says

Protesters holds sign against DOGE's efforts to access data of Americans

Social Security Administration Chief Data Officer Charles Borges 'would not risk his career' if 'he did not think that this was a huge security risk for the American public'

(Image credit: David McNew / Getty Images)

What happened

DOGE operatives uploaded a full copy of a crucial Social Security database to a vulnerable cloud server only they can access, putting the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans at risk, Social Security Administration Chief Data Officer Charles Borges said in a whistleblower complaint Tuesday. The database contains every Social Security number plus corresponding full names, addresses, birthdates and other information coveted by identity thieves.

Who said what

Borges said in his complaint, filed by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, that DOGE workers ignored internal warnings and copied the Numident database to the digital cloud in June, after the Supreme Court lifted a block on Elon Musk's government downsizing operation accessing Social Security data. Borges said he only learned about the data transfer afterward by piecing clues together.

If "bad actors gain access" to the database, "Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft" and loss of "vital health care and food benefits," and would likely need "a new Social Security Number, at great cost" to taxpayers, Borges said in the complaint. The DOGE actions "potentially violated multiple federal statutes," he added.

What next?

An SSA spokesperson said the "data referenced in the complaint" is "walled off from the internet," and the agency was "not aware of any compromise" to the servers. Borges "would not risk his career" if "he did not think that this was a huge security risk for the American public," his attorney Andrea Meza told The Washington Post. The complaint asked Congress and the Office of Special Counsel to "take appropriate oversight action."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.