Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job
Source: Washington Post
March 10, 2026 at 2:33 p.m. EDT
The Social Security Administrations internal watchdog is investigating a complaint that alleges a former U.S. DOGE Service employee claimed he had access to two highly sensitive agency databases and planned to share the information with his private employer a claim that, if true, would constitute an unprecedented breach of security protocols at an agency that serves more than 70 million Americans.
The agencys inspector general is investigating the disclosure and has alerted members of Congress of its existence, according to a letter by the acting inspector general to top members of four congressional committees reviewed by The Washington Post and two people familiar with the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive deliberations. The inspector generals office has also shared the disclosure with the Government Accountability Office, which has been conducting its own audit of DOGEs access to data, according to one of the people.
The Post has reviewed the complaint and spoken with the whistleblower, who issued the complaint anonymously for fear of retaliation. According to the disclosure, the former DOGE software engineer, who worked at the Social Security Administration last year before starting a job at a government contractor in October, allegedly told several co-workers that he possessed two tightly restricted databases of U.S. citizens information, and had at least one on a thumb drive.
The databases, called Numident and the Master Death File, include records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans, including Social Security numbers, places and dates of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, and parents names. The complaint does not include specific dates of when he is said to have told colleagues this information, but at least one of the alleged events unfolded around early January, according to the complaint. While working at DOGE, the engineer had approved access to Social Security data.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/social-security-data-breach-doge/
No paywall (gift)
Scrivener7
(59,540 posts)So that's everyone.
imaginary girl
(1,032 posts)Wiz Imp
(10,031 posts)And As of August 2025, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has assigned over 548 million Social Security numbers (SSNs) since the program began in 1936.
dalton99a
(94,267 posts)vapor2
(4,539 posts)This is our personal information they have sold/breached
cpamomfromtexas
(1,490 posts)The answer. Everyone involved or knew about data should be named in the suit.
Attilatheblond
(8,897 posts)JHB
(38,232 posts)Seinan Sensei
(1,556 posts)The Musks and tRumps are untouchable for now
If you jail & fine lackeys and minions, that would begin to make a difference.
Its way the hell better than a strongly worded letter.
Multichromatic
(147 posts)CousinIT
(12,550 posts)And they should be sued for this because IT IS ILLEGAL. We need MASSIVE FBI raids - unannounced. Get the warrants and get them ALL.
I have no doubt that all of that data has been or will be sold on the dark web for identity theft.
OldBaldy1701E
(11,184 posts)...constitute an unprecedented breach of security protocols at an agency that serves more than 70 million Americans.
And... what will be done about it?
And, when? Before or after they have up ended our information and security and sold it to the highest bidder?

GreenWave
(12,649 posts)Response to GreenWave (Reply #9)
jfz9580m This message was self-deleted by its author.
popsdenver
(2,319 posts)Most certainly the info has been sold to countless organizations and corporations that have an interest and use for such informations. Possibly some of the most nefarious Corporations, and creeps around.......
For instance, just look at what Walgreens Rx knew about you, including all your personal information, and for YEARS they made BILLIONS selling the info to everyone and anyone who could pay for it....
Hello everyone.......we are living in a world of: NO MORE SECRETS
AND, anything and everything about you will be used against you, without you even knowing it......
Figarosmom
(12,081 posts)He was going to give the info to?
EuterpeThelo
(371 posts)is on Palantir.
Buddyzbuddy
(2,659 posts)Anyone not currently authorized in possession, transferring or receiving such information should be charged as such.
It is the U.S. Government's #1 job to protect it's citizens. By giving unauthorized non government personnel access to that information was a failure of the current Administration and should be considered a breach of duty and treated as a crime. IMHO.
The horse may have left the barn but that doesn't mean the idiot's that left the door open should get away Scott free. Nor should any person not authorized trying to rope that horse.
dickthegrouch
(4,536 posts)At the personal expense of anyone who knew, or should have known, and said nothing.
And I fully understand how hard that will be, and how long it will take to plan as a flawless operation.
However, those plans should have been on the books for decades now, ever since the "I LOVE YOU" virus was unleashed by the asshole, Mitnick.
eggplant
(4,205 posts)I look forward to their prison sentence.
orleans
(36,959 posts)but i'm not holding my breath (also seriously)
mdbl
(8,671 posts)Does the FBI give a shit about protecting citizens? Assholes in the GOP Congress don't seem to give a shit.
orangecrush
(30,394 posts)That didn't quit.
RainCaster
(13,733 posts)I've had experiences with what is left and they are not honorable.
orangecrush
(30,394 posts)yellow dahlia
(5,965 posts)The worst case scenario - just as predicted.
llmart
(17,625 posts)It doesn't take much to know that he took them for one reason - to sell to the highest bidder. That has more than likely already happened.
Martin68
(27,767 posts)BattleRow
(2,464 posts)ToxMarz
(2,945 posts)orleans
(36,959 posts)if i want to read the entire piece. and i don't think i cancelled my account with them but i don't want to sign in -- don't remember how to do it. i really need to look for my note on that and cancel them. maybe it could be a fun thing for me to do this weekend.)
thanks for posting this.
here's the archive link: https://archive.is/fux3E
BumRushDaShow
(169,950 posts)I have been threatened for using archive links in LBN.
orleans
(36,959 posts)done that and i just don't remember but ... ?
sorry you got a hard time in LBN. i think it's great we have you (and a handful of others) to post the latest news there.
thank you for all you do. it is much appreciated.
Response to BumRushDaShow (Original post)
jfz9580m This message was self-deleted by its author.
orleans
(36,959 posts)this is the biggest data breach in the history of the world!
this is from jan. 21:
(Washington, DC) The following is a statement from Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works:
Nearly a year ago, Elon Musks DOGE forced out Social Securitys acting commissioner after she refused to hand over the American peoples private Social Security data.
Unions and advocates quickly filed a lawsuit to bar DOGE from accessing the data, but the Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction restoring DOGEs access. Now, we are beginning to learn what DOGE is doing with it.
New court filings related to the lawsuit reveal that DOGE operatives entered an agreement with an advocacy group to share private Social Security data with the goal of overturning election results in several states. The filings do not reveal the identity of either the DOGE operatives or the advocacy group.
Thanks to Donald Trump and the Supreme Court, Elon Musks DOGE minions have access to our private Social Security data. So does anyone they choose to share it with and anyone who can hack the unsecured server theyve stored it on.
This weeks revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. We need to know exactly who has our data and what they are doing with it. And those who have committed illegal acts must be prosecuted.
Republicans in Congress love to claim that they support Social Security. Now is their chance to prove it, by launching a long-overdue investigation into just what DOGE is doing with our earned benefits and our private data.
https://socialsecurityworks.org/doge-stole-private-social-security-data-congress-must-investigate-now/
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(135,836 posts)And many said we were paranoid when Musk's Doge bros had access to personal data.
Rhiannon12866
(255,843 posts)Harry Litman breaks down a shocking whistleblower report that a former DOGE employee had personal access to two databases containing the personal information, including Social Security numbers, of more than 500 million living and dead Americans. He allegedly offered a thumb drive of the data to a private employer. - 03/11/2026.
truddy777
(112 posts)Last edited Tue Mar 17, 2026, 09:40 AM - Edit history (1)
It's a massive security failure if an ex-DOGE member managed to walk out with databases as sensitive as the Numident and the Master Death File. Accessing the personal records of over 500 million people is one thing, but taking them on a thumb drive to a private employer is an unprecedented breach of trust.
It raises a lot of questions about how these high-level transitions are being monitored. To stay updated on how these types of privacy cases are playing out legally, this article offers a great breakdown of recent developments in data protection. The IG investigation gets to the bottom of how such a huge leak was even possible in the first place.