In a startling revelation that has sent shockwaves through federal agencies and privacy advocates, a whistleblower has accused officials from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of copying the personal data of over 300 million Americans to a private cloud account. According to a complaint detailed in NPR’s coverage, this move was intended to grant access to former DOGE team members, potentially exposing sensitive information like Social Security numbers, health diagnoses, and financial records. The whistleblower, identified as the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) chief data officer, alleges that the database was uploaded to a vulnerable cloud server without proper oversight, creating “enormous vulnerabilities” for identity theft and cyberattacks.
The incident reportedly occurred in June 2025, when DOGE personnel, under the leadership of figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, sought to streamline government operations by accessing vast troves of federal data. Insiders familiar with the matter suggest this was part of a broader push to identify inefficiencies, such as fraud in benefit programs, but critics argue it bypassed critical privacy protocols. The complaint highlights how the data transfer evaded standard security measures, including those mandated by the Privacy Act, raising questions about accountability in an agency that operates outside traditional bureaucratic structures.
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