A bombshell Senate report just exposed what might be the biggest government data scandal in decades. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been storing the Social Security Numbers of every American on an unsecured cloud server, despite internal warnings of 'catastrophic' risk. The worst-case scenario? Re-issuing SSNs to the entire country.
The cybersecurity nightmare everyone feared just became reality. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's government efficiency unit has been operating what amounts to a massive data breach waiting to happen, with unfettered access to the most sensitive personal information of every American citizen.
The 127-page Senate report released by Sen. Gary Peters paints a picture of systematic security failures that would make any CISO break into a cold sweat. DOGE staffers moved live production data - not copies, but the actual working databases - to cloud infrastructure that the Social Security Administration had explicitly flagged as potentially catastrophic without proper safeguards.
What makes this exponentially worse is who had access. Edward "Big Balls" Coristine, a staffer with unfettered database privileges, had previously been fired from a cybersecurity internship for leaking company secrets. The irony would be laughable if it weren't so terrifying - a known data leaker given the keys to every American's most sensitive information.
The scope of exposed data goes far beyond Social Security Numbers. According to whistleblower testimony, the database includes birth dates, places of birth, immigration status, work permits, and even parents' names. It's essentially a foreign intelligence service's dream come true, with potential access points for adversaries from Russia, China, and Iran.
But the security failures run deeper than just data exposure. Oversight investigators describe a working environment that resembles something between a startup's "move fast and break things" mentality and a spy thriller. Armed guards controlled access to workspaces. Office windows were hastily covered with black trash bags and tape. Rooms were converted into private bedrooms complete with queen beds, wardrobes, and big-screen TVs, while laptops sat stacked in corners.
The operational secrecy has been so extreme that even SSA officials - the very people responsible for ensuring the security of Social Security data - haven't been able to monitor DOGE's activities. This created what cybersecurity experts would recognize as a perfect storm: sensitive data, inadequate oversight, questionable personnel, and zero accountability.
