Struggle for the personal data of Americans is set in the government

Last week Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, tried to reassure Democrats on Capitol Hill about the presence of two allies of Elon Musk with her agency.

The Social Security Administration stores medical information, bank account numbers and other sensitive personal information about the approximately 70 million Americans it offers with more than $ 1 trillion of benefits per year. In the letter of 11 February to Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat van Oregon, Mrs. King said that the two representatives, from the so-called Ministry of Government Efficiency or Doge, had not yet seen personal information and said that all disclosures would follow established procedures.

“I share your dedication to protect sensitive personal and financial information against incorrect disclosure and abuse,” she wrote in the letter, which was viewed by the New York Times. “We follow all relevant laws and regulations when granting access to SSA systems.”

Days later, Mr. Musk’s team sought access to the data of the agency. Mrs. King opposed the request and on Monday evening she and her staff chief, Tiffany Flick, were outside their jobs, according to three people who were familiar with their departure. The Trump government has elevated Leland Dudek, a staff member at a relatively low level that had previously worked with Doge, To temporarily lead the office.

The episode of the Social Security Administration, which did not respond to requests for comments, has repeatedly played in the federal government. In the explained search to eradicate fraudulent government spending, Mr. Musk’s software has repeatedly sought a unobstructed access to the wide range of personal information that the US government collects about its residents. The requests often have alarmed career companies that are used to civil servants to monitor data whose incorrect disclosure can in some cases violate the federal law.

With the Internal Revenue Service, the team is from Mr. Musk that try to give At least one of the members, a software engineer named Gavin Kliger, broad access to the data included in the approximately 270 million tax returns that American persons, companies and non -profit organizations resist every year.

Stephen Miller, the deputy Staff Chef of the White House, said that allowing doge in the taxpayer systems was needed to prevent incorrect payments. “We are talking about performing a simple anti-fraud evaluation to ensure that people do not enter into a large-scale theft of federal tax payments,” he said in an interview on FOX News on Monday.

IRS officials have asked themselves how much information Mr Kliger and other Doge employees should achieve, according to three people who are familiar with the issue, in view of the fact that unstoppable access could give Mr Kliger the opportunity to do details about the work of the work of the work Americans, investments and families. The IRS has made a memorandum of understanding that parameters would determine around the duties of Mr. Kliger at the tax agency, where he is expected to be detailed from the Office of Personnel Management. A spokeswoman for IRS did not respond to a request for comments.

“If you are interested in the question of whether the IRS program and computer systems are efficient, you do not need a taxpayer information to take that determination,” said Nina E. Olson, the executive director of the Center for TaxPayer Rights, a group He suits the IRS on the issue of doge access on Tuesday. “You can use anonymized data for this.”

Trade unions and state governments have submitted a series of lawsuits that the assets of the Trump government to give political initiative the ability to view and possibly change sensitive government databases. In some cases, including a focus on access to the payment systems of the Treasury Department, federal judges have The team of Mr. Musk temporary to access sensitive data. Other federal judges have refused this in cases involving other agencies.

At stake in the battle between Mr. Musk and the career of civil servants, the security of data that is routinely focused on hackers and scammers who want to exploit Americans, former government officials and experts say. Fast changes in the often old, complicated technology systems that accommodate the data can also break unintentionally, which leads to stair -like technological problems in the government.

“They could accidentally make the system less safe and it would be the dream of a scammer,” said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, a group that promotes the expansion of social security. “It would be a treasure room because of all the information you would have.”

Among the data that the federal government keeps with the IRS and elsewhere is company information, including companies with which Mr. Musk competes. Earlier this month, Russell T. Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, dedicated employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to transfer all non -component information to Doge employees, according to two people who are familiar with The request.

It is unclear what the DOG officials of the desk have actually viewed. But the agency has an enormous amount of data from e-payout companies such as Zelle, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay, all of which would compete directly X money account, A payment system developed by Mr. Musk’s social media site, X.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is intended to protect consumers against unfair and misleading financial practices, has opened various investigations into e-payment systems. The data collected in his research includes correspondence between managers, secret business plans and market analysis, according to one of the people.

Last week the agency canceled various technical contracts that maintain an audit log system to keep track of who has gained access to data, the employees said.

Although many officials are alerted by the Doge search to look at sensitive government systems, some have been enthusiastic about it. Mr Dudek, now the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, has posted posts on LinkedIn to support the team of Mr. Musk.

In a message last week by The Times, Mr. Dudek, who did not respond to requests for comment, wrote that the Social Security Administration investigated him for working with Mr. Musk’s team. Since then he has deleted his LinkedIn account.

“I’m confessing. I bullied agency managers, shared participation contact information and bypassed the command structure to connect Doge with the people who get things done, “he wrote. “Everything I have ever done is in the service of our country, our beneficiaries and our desk.”

Mr. Trump has nominated Frank BisignanoAn executive of payment processing, to lead the social security administration, although it is awaiting the senate confirmation.

Rapport in the field contributed reporting.