A whistleblower complaint has revealed that the Social Security records of more than 300 million Americans may have been placed at risk. According to the filing, officials at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uploaded sensitive information to a cloud platform outside government oversight.
The disclosure came from Charles Borges, chief data officer at the Social Security Administration (SSA) since January. Borges said the exposed information could include medical diagnoses, income details, banking records, family ties, and other highly personal data.
Why It Matters
The complaint, submitted through the Government Accountability Project, is the latest controversy involving President Donald Trump’s DOGE initiative. DOGE, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, was granted broad access to agency data under its mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
Background
Earlier this year, labor and retiree groups sued SSA over its cooperation with DOGE. Although critics argued the partnership threatened privacy, a divided appeals panel ultimately upheld DOGE’s access.
SSA has since sought to calm concerns. In a statement, the agency said the data is still stored within a secure system protected by “robust safeguards” and monitored by career officials.
“We are not aware of any compromise to this environment and remain dedicated to protecting sensitive personal data,” the agency noted.
Borges, however, argued internally that uploading this data was an abuse of authority and possibly illegal. His attorney, Andrea Meza, said he went public “out of a sense of urgency and duty to the American public.”
What People Are Saying
In his complaint, Borges warned: “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.”
SSA reiterated its position, stating: “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.”
Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, added in an April 22 press release:
“President Trump has promised to protect Americans’ hard-earned Social Security benefits so that all eligible individuals can access them. Under the previous administration, SSA promoted radical and wasteful DEI and gender ideology while employees worked from home.
The result was sky-high wait times for customer service and unconscionable delays for benefit decisions. Resuming National Social Security Month further aligns the SSA workforce with President Trump’s principle that government must serve The People—and at SSA that means helping all Americans access their benefits in office, over the phone, and online.”
What’s Next
The complaint has also been sent to congressional oversight committees, with calls for lawmakers to step in and take “appropriate oversight action.”
