Ex-DOGE engineer with 'God-level access' accused of stealing Social Security data on 500 million Americans

A DOGE Employee Walked Out With Every American's Social Security Number on a Thumb Drive

A former DOGE software engineer had what insiders called "God-level access" to America's most sensitive databases. He allegedly copied the NUMIDENT file — the master record of every Social Security number ever issued — and the Death Master File onto a personal thumb drive. Then he left to start a new company.

What Was Stolen

The NUMIDENT database contains your Social Security number, full legal name, date of birth, place of birth, and your parents' names. For every living American. Over 500 million records. The Death Master File logs every death reported to Social Security — a critical fraud prevention tool that's now potentially compromised.

The Whistleblower

A federal whistleblower filed a complaint with the Inspector General detailing how the engineer accessed these systems without adequate oversight. DOGE's rapid hiring of private sector engineers gave them access to classified government systems without the security protocols that normally protect them.

The Pattern

This isn't the first DOGE security incident. The department's move-fast-break-things Silicon Valley culture applied to government systems containing the most sensitive data in America. When you give startup engineers root access to federal databases, this is what happens.

Why It Matters

Your Social Security number is the skeleton key to your identity. With a name, SSN, date of birth, and parents' names, someone can open bank accounts, file tax returns, take out loans — all in your name. And now that data might be sitting on someone's personal thumb drive.