Whistleblower Says DOGE Stashed 300 Million Social Security IDs on ‘Vulnerable’ Server
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A whistleblower accused officials tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of putting the personal details of hundreds of millions of Americans at risk by uploading the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) most sensitive database into a “vulnerable” cloud server.
Charles Borges, the SSA’s chief data officer, made the allegation in a complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel and Congress in which he warned that DOGE’s handling of the so-called Numident file, which contains every Social Security number ever issued, exposed the data to “enormous vulnerabilities.”
“Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital health care and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost,” Borges wrote.
The revelations sharpen scrutiny of DOGE, the Elon Musk-created team embedded in the federal bureaucracy and tasked with implementing cuts for President Donald Trump, which has already faced lawsuits and judicial blockades over its handling of government-held data.
A federal judge halted DOGE’s access to Social Security information in March, but the Supreme Court cleared the way weeks later, paving the path for the transfer Borges described.
Internal memos cited in the complaint and seen by The New York Times show senior officials, including Aram Moghaddassi, a former Musk executive now serving as Social Security’s chief information officer, brushing aside security warnings.
“I have determined the business need is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks,” Moghaddassi wrote in July.
The White House and Social Security Administration declined comment to the Times.
Borges, a Navy veteran who joined the agency in January, alleges DOGE’s actions “potentially violated multiple federal statutes.”
