[US] DOGE’s federal payroll system access risks ‘unprecedented power and control’

In the US, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues its push to obtain sensitive government information, gaining access to federal payroll systems at the end of March, prompting concerns about the long-term goals of its efforts to overhaul US bureaucracy, Yahoo reports.

According to two anonymous sources who spoke with the New York Times, an Elon Musk–led DOGE now has entry into the employment information of 276,000 federal employees and can view Social Security numbers and more easily hire and fire workers. 

The Federal Personnel Payroll System is inside the Department of the Interior, which processes pay for the Air Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, and Justice.

The sources reportedly said that DOGE’s access to these systems could compromise the cybersecurity of sensitive government information. However, when senior IT personnel pushed back against the move, they were placed on administrative leave and are now reportedly under investigation for “workplace behavior.”

In a statement, an Interior Department spokesperson told Fortune, “We are working to execute the President’s directive to cut costs and make the government more efficient for the American people and have taken actions to implement President [Donald] Trump’s Executive Orders.” 

Mr Musk recently doubled down on justifying DOGE’s access to government data, claiming it was a necessary part of identifying and eliminating waste and fraud.

During a recent Fox News interview, Mr  Musk said, “These databases don’t talk to each other. And that’s really the source of, that’s the biggest vulnerability for fraud, is the fact that these databases don’t talk to each other. So we need to reconcile the databases. It’s a, frankly, painful homework, but it has to be done, and will greatly improve the efficiency of the government systems.”

Policy and transparency experts have reportedly cautioned that DOGE’s acquisition of private information will have consequences whose ripple effect has yet to be determined.

Speaking to Fortune, Elizabeth Laird - the director of equity in civic technology at technology policy nonprofit the Center for Democracy and Technology - said, “Being able to amass all of that information will give the federal government unprecedented power and control to do with that information a number of things that we just haven't experienced as a country before.”

Source: Yahoo

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

In the US, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues its push to obtain sensitive government information, gaining access to federal payroll systems at the end of March, prompting concerns about the long-term goals of its efforts to overhaul US bureaucracy, Yahoo reports.

According to two anonymous sources who spoke with the New York Times, an Elon Musk–led DOGE now has entry into the employment information of 276,000 federal employees and can view Social Security numbers and more easily hire and fire workers. 

The Federal Personnel Payroll System is inside the Department of the Interior, which processes pay for the Air Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, and Justice.

The sources reportedly said that DOGE’s access to these systems could compromise the cybersecurity of sensitive government information. However, when senior IT personnel pushed back against the move, they were placed on administrative leave and are now reportedly under investigation for “workplace behavior.”

In a statement, an Interior Department spokesperson told Fortune, “We are working to execute the President’s directive to cut costs and make the government more efficient for the American people and have taken actions to implement President [Donald] Trump’s Executive Orders.” 

Mr Musk recently doubled down on justifying DOGE’s access to government data, claiming it was a necessary part of identifying and eliminating waste and fraud.

During a recent Fox News interview, Mr  Musk said, “These databases don’t talk to each other. And that’s really the source of, that’s the biggest vulnerability for fraud, is the fact that these databases don’t talk to each other. So we need to reconcile the databases. It’s a, frankly, painful homework, but it has to be done, and will greatly improve the efficiency of the government systems.”

Policy and transparency experts have reportedly cautioned that DOGE’s acquisition of private information will have consequences whose ripple effect has yet to be determined.

Speaking to Fortune, Elizabeth Laird - the director of equity in civic technology at technology policy nonprofit the Center for Democracy and Technology - said, “Being able to amass all of that information will give the federal government unprecedented power and control to do with that information a number of things that we just haven't experienced as a country before.”

Source: Yahoo

(Links and quotes via original reporting)