A newly released report from Senate Democrats alleges that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has “copied Americans’ sensitive Social Security and employment data into a cloud database without any verified security controls” and is “operating outside federal law, with unchecked access to Americans’ personal data” at the Social Security Administration (SSA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). DOGE was initially led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The report, released on Thursday by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI)—a ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee—found DOGE is “working without any accountability” to agency leadership, congressional oversight, or the public.
“DOGE isn’t making government more efficient—they are bypassing cybersecurity protections, evading oversight, and putting Americans’ personal data at risk,” Peters said in a statement. “We cannot allow this shadow operation to continue operating unchecked while millions of people face the threat of identity theft, economic disruption, and permanent harm.”
The 44-page “Peters report” (titled “Unchecked and Unaccountable”) is based on staff investigations and information from multiple whistleblowers, including Chuck Borges, former chief data officer at the Social Security Administration, who said DOGE employees at SSA had access to personal data on all Americans—including Social Security numbers—in an insecure cloud environment.
Additionally, the report alleges it’s very likely that foreign adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran are already aware of this new DOGE cloud environment. The report cited an internal SSA risk assessment that determined the likelihood of a data breach with “catastrophic adverse effect” is between 35% and 65%.
The database reportedly includes not only Social Security numbers but also people’s dates of birth, cities of residence, work permit status, and parents’ names, according to The Verge.
DOGE report conclusions
The report concludes that the loss of Social Security numbers could allegedly trigger widespread identity theft, delay access to benefits, and destabilize core systems Americans rely on.
Peters is calling for Trump administration agencies to immediately halt DOGE operations and its access to information systems, given the report’s findings about the catastrophic risk of a serious data breach.
According to the risk assessment, one whistleblower disclosed the possibility that, in a worst-case scenario, such a breach could require reissuing Social Security numbers for every American—a process that would disrupt access to banking, employment, healthcare, and housing.