WASHINGTON (AP) — A whistleblower has warned that more than 300 million Americans’ Social Security records may have been exposed after officials with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uploaded sensitive data to an unsecured cloud system. The disclosure was submitted Tuesday to the special counsel’s office.
Charles Borges, the Social Security Administration’s chief data officer since January, said the uploaded files contained personal details ranging from health diagnoses and banking information to family relationships and biographic data.
“Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for re-issuing every American a new Social Security Number at great cost,” the complaint stated.
The Government Accountability Project, which filed the complaint, addressed it to congressional oversight committees and urged lawmakers to take immediate action.
This disclosure adds to growing criticism of President Donald Trump’s DOGE program. The initiative was granted sweeping authority to review and manage federal data as part of its mission to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. Earlier this year, labor and retiree groups sued the Social Security Administration over DOGE’s access to sensitive records, though an appeals court recently upheld the agency’s decision to allow the access.
The SSA responded Wednesday, saying it treats whistleblower concerns seriously but pushed back against Borges’ claims.
“SSA stores all personal data in secure environments that have robust safeguards in place to protect vital information. The data referenced in the complaint is stored in a long-standing environment used by SSA and walled off from the internet. High-level career SSA officials have administrative access to this system with oversight by SSA’s Information Security team. We are not aware of any compromise to this environment and remain dedicated to protecting sensitive personal data,” the agency said in a statement.
Borges told investigators that he warned his superiors the upload represented an abuse of authority, a potential violation of federal law, and a direct threat to public health and safety.
Andrea Meza, his attorney, said Borges acted “out of a sense of urgency and duty to the American public.”
