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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Nick Robins-Early

Elon Musk’s Doge put sensitive social security data at risk, whistleblower says

a person holds a sign that reads 'save our democracy social security medicare medicaid from Trump Musk'
People protest against the Trump administration outside a Trump rally in Warren, Michigan, on 29 April 2025. Photograph: Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) copied and uploaded sensitive Social Security Administration (SSA) data to a vulnerable cloud server, potentially risking the safety of hundreds of millions of Americans and violating federal privacy laws, according to a whistleblower complaint filed on Tuesday.

The complaint from Charles Borges, the chief data officer at the SSA, alleges that Doge staffers effectively created a live copy of the entire country’s social security data from its numerical identification system database. The information is a goldmine for bad actors, the complaint alleges, and was placed on a server without independent oversight that only Doge officials could access.

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