Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano has addressed concerns from lawmakers following whistleblower allegations that the federal agency mishandled sensitive personal data.
Newsweek has contacted the Social Security Administration (SSA) for comment via email outside regular working hours.
Last week, Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo requested clarification on whether the SSA systems—including its Numident database—had been compromised. Numident is a database of Social Security applications and personal details, including the name of the applicant, place and date of birth, citizenship, race, ethnicity, parents' names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and addresses.
The issue stems from an August whistleblower complaint filed by Charles Borges, the former SSA chief data officer, and the Government Accountability Project. Borges' complaint accused SSA Chief Information Officer Aram Moghaddassi and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of violating agency policies to "create a live copy of the country's Social Security information in a cloud environment that circumvents oversight."
Borges also alleged that the agency failed to adequately protect personally identifiable information in a "vulnerable" cloud environment, citing poor access controls, data management and storage practices. He also said his concerns were ignored, creating a hostile workplace that led to his resignation in late August.
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