DOGE Staffer Broke Treasury Rules Transmitting Personal Data

pppppppManage your accountppppBloomberg A staffer for the Department of Government Efficiency violated Treasury Department policies when he sent a spreadsheet containing personal information to two other people in the Trump administration a federal official revealed in a court filing FridayppMost Read from BloombergppICE Eyes Massive California Tent Facility Amid Space ConstraintsppHow Britains Most BikeFriendly New Town Got BuiltppWashington DC Region Braces for Devastating Cuts from CongressppThe Dark Prophet of CarClogged CitiesppSaving the Signature Sound of Washington DCppThat DOGE staffer was Marko Elez who left his job tracking Treasury payments after social media posts linking him to racist beliefs surfaced online He has since been rehired by DOGE at the Social Security AdministrationppThe details about the data exchange come out of a forensic analysis Treasury conducted as part of a lawsuit brought by New York and other state attorneys general attempting to halt President Donald Trumps efficiency initiative from accessing sensitive payment information about US taxpayers contractors employees and beneficiariesppThe violation raises concerns about the data security practices of DOGEs work at the Treasury Department and other agencies as it digs into sensitive government databases A federal filing earlier this week noted that any disruptions to the Treasury payments systems could have catastrophic consequences including risking federal default on obligations or jeopardizing social support payments to millions of AmericansppThe attorneys general responded in their own filing Friday that the revelation shows why the court shouldnt allow Elezs replacement have more access to data The judge previously issued a order limiting DOGEs access to payments systems which the government is seeking to modifyppPlaintiffs have quickly reviewed the contents of these declarations and they do nothing to allay any of the concerns expressed by the court in its opinion about the rushed and chaotic nature of the Treasury DOGE Team onboarding process the attorneys general said in a footnote to their own filing Friday Rather these new declarations confirm that the courts concerns were well foundedppThe forensic analysis was conducted after the government revealed in an earlier court filing that Elez had briefly had readwrite access to the payments data when the court had previously been advised that his access was readonly The analysis found that Elez did not make any changes to the payment datappBut after Elez resigned Treasury found that he had emailed a spreadsheet containing personally identifiable information to two other officials at the General Services Administration a separate agency that manages business operations for much of the federal government according to the new filingppThe spreadsheet contained names though Treasury didnt specify whether they were of individuals or entities with the transaction type and an amount of money according to the filing Treasury also did not reveal how many payments were includedppThe names in the spreadsheet are considered lowrisk PII because the names are not accompanied by more specific identifiers such as social security numbers or birth dates said the statement from David Ambrose the chief privacy officer for the Bureau of the Fiscal ServiceppBut the distribution of personally identifiable information nonetheless violated Bureau of Fiscal Services policies because it was not encrypted and Elez did not obtain prior written approval he saidppIn filings in a separate court case the Social Security Administration said this week that DOGE staffers need access to sensitive data on Social Security beneficiaries so they can review records needed to detect fraud Elez is one of 10 DOGE staffers at the social insurance agencyppThe SSA and Elez did not immediately respond to requests for commentppThe judge in the Treasury case last month blocked DOGEaffiliated employees from accessing Americans personal and financial information at Treasury But the judge gave the government an offramp saying the Justice Department could seek to lift the injunction after providing details about training and vetting for DOGE employees The filing on Friday outlined such training for the employee who replaced Elez which specifically addressed the issues around his predecessors violationppThe states that sued argued DOGE was putting Americans data at risk by giving untrained staffers access to a vast trove of information The data stems from a wide array of payments by the federal government to millions of Americans including Social Security checks veterans benefits Medicare and Medicaid payments and childtax creditsppBefore joining DOGE Elez worked as an engineer for SpaceX and socialmedia platform X two companies owed by billionaire Elon Musk Trump has tasked Musk with a wideranging effort to rein in federal spending and the Treasurys payments system which contains some of the most sensitive nonclassified information the government keeps was an early target of that effortppIn a separate court filing on Monday the agency said that there were 10 DOGE staffers working on eliminating waste and fraud in the nations social insurance program and that they needed direct access to beneficiary data to do soppAn AI summary previously at the top of the story was removed because it incorrectly said Elez had sent the spreadsheet after he resignedppUpdates with filings by state attorneys generalppMost Read from Bloomberg BusinessweekppNvidia Looks Past DeepSeek and Tariffs for AIs Next ChapterppThe Real Reason Trump Is Pushing Buy AmericanppHow America Got Hooked on H MartppHow Trumps No Tax on Tips Could Backfire for the Working ClassppCollege Presidents on Trump Tuition and Universities Under Pressurepp2025 Bloomberg LPp