DOGE shared Social Security data through unsecured server, benefits agency says

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shared Social Security data through an unsecured web server last year, the benefits agency has disclosed.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) said in a Friday court filing that DOGE employees used Cloudflare, an internet services provider, to share SSA information in March. Cloudflare is not approved for storing the agency’s data, and using it like DOGE did is a violation of security protocols, SSA said.

Social Security officials have been unable to determine exactly what information DOGE shared through Cloudflare and whether it still exists on the server. The National News Desk has been unable to request comment from DOGE’s current or former employees.

Representative John Larson, the highest-ranking Democrat of the House’s Social Security subcommittee, said in a joint statement with Representative Richard Neal that the agency’s disclosure is “alarming.” Neal is the top Democrat on the Ways and Means committee, which oversees the Social Security panel.

“We have been warning about privacy violations at Social Security and calling out Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ for months,” the lawmakers said.

“The ‘DOGE’ appointees engaged in this scheme – who were never brought before Congress for approval or even publicly identified – must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for these abhorrent violations of the public trust,” the Democrats added.

DOGE’s Social Security team also entered an unapproved agreement in March with an activist group that tries to overturn elections, SSA said. The organization, which isn’t named in the court filing, asked DOGE to analyze state voter rolls it acquired, and the DOGE employees then signed a “Voter Data Agreement” that they returned to the activists.

The details of the agreement are unclear, but it wasn’t reviewed or approved through SSA’s data exchange procedures.

Additionally, DOGE’s Social Security staffers sent the personally identifiable information of around 1,000 people to Steve Davis, the operational head of the cost-cutting unit. SSA couldn’t determine whether Davis accessed the data, though.

“‘DOGE’ signed an agreement to share Social Security data with an organization trying to undermine state election results, sent 1,000 Americans’ personal records directly to one of Elon Musk’s top consiglieres, and shared the confidential data of Americans on a private server,” Larson and Neal said.

“The time for talk is over. Chairman [Jason] Smith and every Republican on the Ways and Means Committee must break their silence on what could very well be the largest data breach in our nation’s history and as we have now learned, may have implications for election security,” the lawmakers added.

The National News Desk requested comment from the committee’s Republican leadership but hasn’t received a response. The GOP members have generally supported DOGE’s work, though, describing it as beneficial for the country’s financial health.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.