Musk Aides Lock Federal Employees Out of Computer System: ‘No Visibility Into What They Are Doing’
Brandon Bell/Pool via AP
Aides to Elon Musk have locked employees with the Office of Personnel Management out of agency computers, according to two employees who spoke to Reuters for a story that was published on Friday.
The two individuals said it was unclear what those who had control of the agency’s computer systems were doing with them.
Employees of the OPM – which operates as the federal government’s human resources department – have no access to vital information related to more than 2.2 million federal workers, the anonymous agency employees told Reuters. The wire service reported:
The two officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said some senior career employees at OPM have had their access revoked to some of the department’s data systems.
The systems include a vast database called Enterprise Human Resources Integration, which contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades and length of service of government workers, the officials said.
One of the officials said, “We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems. That is creating great concern. There is no oversight. It creates real cybersecurity and hacking implications.”
Reuters reported that as of Friday, OPM employees had limited access to basic work programs such as email as they are being encouraged to resign:
Officials affected by the move can still log on and access functions such as email but can no longer see the massive datasets that cover every facet of the federal workforce.
Musk, OPM, representatives of the new team, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
OPM has sent out memos that eschew the normal dry wording of government missives as it encourages civil servants to consider buyout offers to quit and take a vacation to a “dream destination.”
Federal News Network, a go-to news source for government employees, reported President Donald Trump has directed OPM to cut its staff by 70 percent as he and Musk apparently follow through on a campaign vow to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
