Cybersecurity Policy Report, DOGE Copied ‘Entire Country’s’ Social Security Data to ‘High-Risk’ Database, Whistleblower Says, (Aug 26, 2025)

By Tom Leithauser

A “high risk” database containing the personal data of everyone who ever applied for a Social Security number was created at the Social Security Administration (SSA) in apparent violation of court orders and federal law, Charles Borges, SSA’s chief data officer, disclosed today in a whistleblower report.

Personnel from the White House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) created “a live copy of the entire country’s Social Security information from the Numerical Identification System (NUMIDENT) database, that apparently lacks any security oversight from SSA or tracking to determine who is accessing or has accessed the copy of this data,” according to the report published by Mr. Borges’ attorneys at the Government Accountability Project.

“NUMIDENT contains all data submitted in an application for a United States Social Security card—including the name of the applicant, place and date of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, parents’ names and social security numbers, phone number, address, and other personal information,” the report explains.

“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,” it warns.

A career official working for SSA’s chief information officer (CIO) characterized the database as “high-risk” and said unauthorized access to the data would have a “catastrophic impact to SSA beneficiaries and SSA programs,” the report says, but SSA’s DOGE-affiliated CIO, Aram Moghaddassi, determined that “the business need is higher than the security risk” associated with the database.

DOGE’s mission at SSA was to examine data and data systems to find waste, fraud, and inefficiencies, but the report suggests that the data might also have been used to train artificial intelligence systems.

Mr. Borges expressed his concerns to higher-ups several times but didn’t receive adequate explanations for the activities of DOGE and later became aware that the SSA’s general counsel had advised coworkers not to answer his questions, according to the report.

He sought the whistleblower protections available under federal law and obtained representation from the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit whistleblower advocacy group. The report was sent to the Senate committees on Finance and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; the House committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Ways and Means; and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

“Mr. Borges raised concerns to his supervisors about his discovery of a disturbing pattern of questionable and risky security access and administrative misconduct that impacts some of the public’s most sensitive data,” Andrea Meza, director–campaigns for the Government Accountability Project, said in a news release.

“Out of a sense of urgency and duty to the American public, he is now raising the alarm to Congress and the Office of Special Counsel, urging them to engage in immediate oversight to address these serious concerns,” Ms. Meza added.

DOGE’s activities at SSA were challenged in federal court by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the American Federation of Teachers; and the Alliance for Retired Americans. They persuaded a federal judge and an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Richmond) to enjoin DOGE personnel from accessing SSA data.

But the preliminary injunction was overturned by the Supreme Court (CPR, June 9). Before that happened, however, DOGE personnel apparently continued activities that had been prohibited by the lower courts, the report indicates.

The report also cites several federal laws that might have been violated, including the Privacy Act of 1974, the Social Security Act, the Tax Reform Act of 1976, the Taxpayer Browsing Protection Act, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Inspector General Act.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), who received the whistleblower report as ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement that the report was “a clear example of how the Trump administration is playing fast and loose with Americans’ most sensitive personal information. Trump and DOGE’s reckless treatment of Social Security data jeopardizes the financial security and personal safety of every single American.”

Social Security and White House officials didn’t reply to requests for comment.

MainStory: TopStory FederalLegislation DataSecurity DataPrivacy DOGE