1w ago

Armed guards and Muscle Milk: Senate investigation reveals DOGE takeover details

www.wired.com

Armed Guards and Muscle Milk: Senate Investigation Reveals DOGE Takeover Details

A new Senate report claims DOGE put every American's Social Security number at risk—and that officials at federal agencies essentially obstructed an investigation, all but denying DOGE even exists.

From its inception, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) operated as a rogue entity within the US government, slashing staff and funding, gaining access to government systems, and overriding agency decisionmaking—all without oversight from officials who have little understanding of its reach and methods.

A new report issued by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) on Thursday adds new insight on how this incursion happened, while raising grave concerns about the possibility of a catastrophic data breach that would affect all Americans and serious questions about who DOGE operatives answer to.

Oversight staff detail how DOGE gained control over federal agencies, focusing their probe on three of DOGE’s primary targets: the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the Social Security Administration (SSA).

5 comments

The "catastrophic data breach" was Elon gaining access to all those systems. He rigged the last presidential. Now he can do more.
Who was—and is—in charge of all this is unclear to the investigators. Under the terms of the executive order establishing DOGE, that should be Amy Gleason, the administrator of the US DOGE Service. “However,” the report says, “whistleblowers told staff that Ms. Gleason is just a figurehead with no real power over DOGE staff at agencies and that most DOGE staff actually function outside of the US DOGE Service.” (Gleason did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Haul her before a public hearing. This needs more light shown on it.
The GSA installed terminals from Starlink, the satellite company Musk owns, about a month after inauguration. At the time, GSA staff warned that this posed a significant security risk and voiced concern that the terminals could allow DOGE to siphon data out of the agency. According to the report, GSA officials “could not even confirm that the Starlink terminal was configured with basic security settings recommended by Starlink itself,” making staffers “concerned that any data sent or received over the Starlink device at GSA and other locations could be an easy target for foreign adversaries."
Starlink terminals have also been installed at the White House.
But Hillary had a private email server, so why don't we keep focusing on that and ignore this?
A new Senate report claims DOGE put every American’s Social Security number at risk
Good. But still they do the "we've got it under control, go home folks" shtick. No, not "at risk" - "exposed".
On todays internet there's no scenario where you can answer "phew, fortunately no-one took advantage" to that.
FIGHT MILK!