this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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According to a protected disclosure filed with the Office of Special Counsel, Borges told the Government Accountability Project that DOGE officials working at Social Security created a “live copy” of the country’s Social Security records in a separate cloud environment that sidestepped usual security checks.

The group says those lapses put the Social Security information of more than 300 million Americans at risk.

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[–] qx128@lemmy.world 9 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Say it with me!

A 👏 social 👏 security 👏 number 👏 is 👏 NOT 👏 a 👏 valid 👏 identity 👏 verification 👏 method.

The idea that all SSNs should be changed is dumb.

The fix is to get dumb people to stop using it as an identity verification method.

[–] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Another victory for Small Government and the Private Sector, puh-raise JEE-zuz-ah!

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks DOGE! Jesus, trump, how could you be so fucking stupid and uncaring? You have done nothing more than shove the monopoly board of america off of the table in a big tantrum because you were losing. Don't forget, America made you, America can bring you down.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 1 points 1 hour ago

Two words: malignant narcissist.

[–] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

This is how Americans are going to lose their right to vote. The process will be "slow" for specific states and regions, just long enough to miss the midterms.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Y'all won your right to vote once, you can do it again.

[–] UltraMagnus@startrek.website 1 points 14 minutes ago

Yep - I've already been bugging my grandma to get a passport so that she will be able to vote if SAVE act passes (she changed her name when she married, but doesn't have a passport since she's never left the country). Gotta avoid doomerism and make the fascists fight for every inch we can.

[–] AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 46 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Thanks a lot DOGE. So clearly Elon Musk gives every American compensation, we get new numbers and have all of our credit history wiped clean to start new right? Bc otherwise this just means we've all been massively fucked by Trump and his band of idiots

[–] ugandan_airways@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Life in prison would be nice too. Fuck him and his ketamine bender

[–] AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I feel like he would just buy his luxury in prison like Pablo Escobar.

I think the worst punishment for people like Thiel and Musk would be to have their assets seized and any future wages garnished to be paid to the victims of their crimes, while they're forced to attempt to survive in the society they've helped create.

The consequences they face will serve as an example and deterrent for others like them and one of two things would happen. Billionaires suddenly experience empathy/gain a conscience and conditions improve for all of society, or, billionaires continue to maintain the conditions they've created while one by one falling victim to their own creations. Most likely they check themselves out very quickly rather than attempt to survive the nightmare they had no problems inflicting on others. Either way equals a net gain for society.

[–] ugandan_airways@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 hours ago

Totally. I meant life in prison in addition to having all of their assets seized. They deserve to rot.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 12 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

His wealth spread across everyone living in the U.S. is ~ $2500 a person

Not adult, not citizen, not household,..

Person

I could use an extra $2500.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 43 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I fucking CALLED IT.

I've been getting so many loan applications since they opened pandoras box last year. never had this problem. I even just got an alert my SSN has been found on the darknet.

take my advice, freeze your credit report at all three major credit firms NOW. don't wait, takes an hour for all three all online. doesn't matter of you're 9 or 90, do it do it do it.

[–] aceshigh@lemmy.world 11 points 18 hours ago

Also - create an irs profile and check to require a password to file taxes. And also create ssa profile and check the data.

[–] jj4211@lemmy.world 16 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Instead of new SSNs, how about we maybe the number less risky in general?

It should never have served as a "secret". Authenticating someone needs more than some account number. SSN should be more of a "username", not a password.

[–] kinther@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

CGP Grey's video - the worst ID system in america

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erp8IAUouus

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 8 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It was never meant to part of any kind of database, but banks and businesses found a loophole to that a long ass time ago and now we're here.

[–] wicked@programming.dev 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

What do you think it's meant for? It's a perfect fit for any database that needs to uniquely identify a person.

The problem is using it as authorization without any other checks.

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 hours ago

It's not a perfect fit for anything that requires security. It was never meant to be a SECURE identifier. Just AN identifier.

[–] maplesaga@lemmy.world 26 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (2 children)

I have long predicted the entire goal of DOGE was to feed more data to Palantir, and clearly no other company is ever going to be given this level of security clearance, so they become dependent on it forever. I think this view is gaining more traction from what I've seen.

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 7 points 13 hours ago

DOGE was a coup within a coup.

[–] schubidubiduba@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Obviously the entire goal was to make the government dependent on their select batch of private companies which they control. Palantir is one, but don't forget the huge order for military-grade armored Teslas. And probably many similar cases.

[–] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Military grade Teslas? I support ICE having those.

DOOR LOCKS, SIZZLE

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 7 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

American government is again a laughingstock. Another comedy episode for the plutocrats in Moscow.

[–] turmacar@lemmy.world 34 points 1 day ago (1 children)

more than 300 million Americans

I know wiggle room is the gold standard of journalism... but you can just say "all Americans".

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 15 points 23 hours ago

The rest are being deported.

[–] PissingIntoTheWind@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks Doge. Daily reminder. Fuck Elon.

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 4 points 11 hours ago

Honestly, having SSNs as identification in the first place is the main problem

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 4 points 16 hours ago

I need to move

[–] Nomad64@lemmy.world 8 points 19 hours ago (1 children)
[–] binom@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

thank you very much!

[–] moopet@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Just add a 1 at the end of them all. That's what I do when my work says I have to change my password.

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[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 36 points 1 day ago (10 children)

0 chance they hand out new SSID, that's money and work and confusion, imagine every medical entity changing over that code?

First, the govt would need to make a lookup table.

Anyone that used their old ssid for something, or a system that had the old ssid in it, would need a translation to the new ID.

Sooo at what point could you safely stop accepting old ID's because they're all changed over? Never. Some random medical provider in east bumfuck, TN, still uses your SSID from their own paper copy. So you're stuck accepting old SSIDs and translating them into new SSIDs on demand, which completely breaks any security of changing IDs in the first place.

There have been enough nexus/credit leaks over the years, it's hardly news that those ID's are compromised.

[–] MrMcGasion@lemmy.world 14 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Just a minor bit of pedantry, but Social Security Numbers are generally abbreviated as SSN, SSID usually refers to a "Service Set Identifier" aka WiFi network name.

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 5 points 14 hours ago

You didn't get your SSN converted to SSID with the microchip Moderna mRNA vax?

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[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 50 points 1 day ago (3 children)

DOGE infiltrated months ago and you are just reacting now?

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