A whistleblower from the Social Security Administration said that the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have created such a security risk that officials acknowledged the possibility of re-issuing every Social Security number. That and more were revealed in a protected whistleblower disclosure filed this week.
According to the Government Accountability Project – a watchdog group that submitted the disclosure to the Office of Special Counsel – whistleblower Charles Borges, chief data officer at the SSA, brought up DOGE-related security issues this month with his superiors. DOGE is a program created by President Donald Trump this year that was formerly led by his ex-ally Elon Musk. Its moves to reduce government spending by cutting staffing as well as contacts are more were met with lawsuits and criticism.
“Mr. Borges commented that re-issuance of Social Security Numbers to all who possess one was a potential worst-case outcome, and one of his superiors noted that possibility, underscoring the risk to the public,” reads the disclosure regarding Borges’ DOGE concerns.
Per the Government Accountability Project, Borges disclosed reports that DOGE officials employed by the SSA “have created a live copy of the country’s Social Security information in a cloud environment that circumvents oversight.” That live copy could be accessed by “bad actors” and leave Americans vulnerable to identity theft and result in the loss of healthcare or food benefits, the watchdog group said.
Data from the SSA shows that 69 million Americans will receive a Social Security check this year. As of 2022, more than 16 million people relied on Social Security benefits as their only source of income and more than 38 million relied on it for half of their income, according to the Pew Research Center.
In his role as CDO, Borges leads the SSA Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight and his position requires full visibility into data access, data exchange, and cloud-based environments. He has held this position since Jan. 27 of this year, after Trump was inaugurated.
“Since DOGE’s founding in January 2025, DOGE officials have sought to access the American public’s Social Security data, purportedly to address claims of fraud,” said the Government Accountability Office.
It noted that a lawsuit was filed to stop DOGE’s access to the data. That suit resulted in a temporary restraining order from March through June.
“Mr. Borges’ disclosure describes multiple instances of wrongdoing at SSA progressing from a circumvention of the court’s order in March 2025 to approval of high-risk activities outside of normal review and approval procedures by July 2025,” the watchdog group added. He also detailed how DOGE personnel appeared to have given themselves authorization to create the copy of the SSA’s entire live set of data “without any independent security or oversight mechanisms in place.”
Andrea Meza, director of campaigns for Government Accountability Project and Borges’ attorney, said that his disclosure shows “bravery in coming forward to protect the American public’s data is an important step towards mitigating the risks before it is too late.” He urged the Office of Special Counsel and Congress to “engage in immediate oversight.”