DOGE and U.S. Government Data

In previous blog posts, I have described how the U.S. DOGE Service, generally referred to simply as "DOGE", and Shadow President Elon Musk have sought to gain direct control of the entire federal workforce and federal payment systems. In addition to control of the workforce and payments, DOGE has had another target: the government's data.

The takeover of much of the government by Musk and DOGE has been described by some as a "blitzkrieg". DOGE teams move in, take over offices, and demand access to key systems. As one federal employee was quoted as saying, "They have a playbook, which is to get access to the data".

In many cases, career employees who object to DOGE's access to sensitive data are shunted aside and replaced with political appointees loyal to Musk. As Time describes it:

Putting hand-picked candidates in those crucial IT roles across the government will give DOGE and the Trump White House more centralized access to massive troves of data about the federal workforce and government spending. That’s by design.

It is not just workforce and spending data to which DOGE has sought access. Musk and DOGE have gone for the "big fish" of the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration. According to the Washington Post, Musk has installed officials viewed as sympathetic to his goals in the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration. These are two of the most data-rich agencies in the U.S. government.

One example of DOGE's penchant for vacuuming up all available data occurred at the Department of Education. As The Washington Post reported:

By the end of January, DOGE members had gained entrée to data on federal student aid, including the personal information for millions who receive student loans from the government — and to information on department personnel and trainings, according to three people with knowledge of the team’s access.

Computer security experts such as Bruce Schneier worry about the security risks that DOGE's actions present:

There are many actors, foreign and domestic, government and criminal, that want access to, and control of, both our data and computing infrastructure. So, as a nation, we spent a lot of time and effort and money on cybersecurity. And what DOGE is doing is bypassing that security. They are accessing data through insecure means. They're copying data onto unprotected servers. They’re using it to train AIs. In some cases, they're modifying government systems in ways that have not been tested. And all of this provides opportunities to our enemies.

Of special concern is the fact that Musk and DOGE have been feeding this sensitive data to artificial intelligence (AI) systems. NBC News reports that, according to three sources, responses to the "What did you do last week?" email will be fed to an AI system:

The information will go into an LLM (Large Language Model), an advanced AI system that looks at huge amounts of text data to understand, generate, and process human language, the sources said.

The report went on to say:

Musk and DOGE's access to government data and information has become a central point of friction between the group and its critics. In at least 11 lawsuits, plaintiffs have argued that DOGE has flouted laws and rules around data and privacy. Some of the lawsuits have referenced allegations that DOGE is using artificial intelligence to analyze and process government data.

The Washington Post reported that DOGE has been "using AI software accessed through Microsoft’s cloud computing service Azure" and that "Azure can be used to access AI tools made by many different companies, and it is unclear which the DOGE workers used." The report goes on to say that:

Feeding sensitive data into AI software puts it into the possession of a system’s operator, increasing the chances it will be leaked or swept up in cyberattacks. 

The fact that DOGE and Musk appear to be transferring sensitive government data to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform raises a number of issues. What security reviews has this platform undergone? Who controls it? As the Washington Post reports, the data housed on Azure can be accessed by a number of different AI tools. Which are being used and what sort of controls are placed on those? Among the companies owned by Musk is xAI, a company specializing in artificial intelligence. xAI has produced GrokAI, which is integrated into Musk's social media network X. It is not only conceivable but likely that the government data that has been fed to Azure is being processed by Musk's own AI tools. If so, who owns the data models being constructed? Are there any agreements in place governing who can access the data and for what purposes it can be used?

It is entirely possible that in the process of harnessing as much government data as possible, Musk is building an AI system with unparalleled access to government information. If he deploys this for commercial purposes, he could not only sell access to the highest bidder but it would also provide Musk a significant competitive advantage over his competitors.

Harvesting IRS data would give Musk access to everyone's tax returns. Musk would have detailed information about corporations at his fingertips. Social Security data would provide personalized information about almost every American. Consider the value of the combined Social Security and IRS information? By siphoning data from the Veterans Administration, Medicare, and Medicaid, Musk can access private medical records. This is what Musk is seeking to put within his control, and there are no known limitations that have been placed on him.

I have written before that simply explaining the reality of what Musk and DOGE are doing makes one sound like a crazed conspiracy theorist. It is almost inarguable that DOGE is being established as a shadow government with control over employees, spending, and data. This is all happening in broad daylight. While the government contends that Musk is nothing but an advisor with no decision-making authority and no formal role in DOGE, it is clear to anyone paying attention that Musk is the de facto leader of DOGE. But assume that any ambitions that Musk has for leading a shadow government fail. He may well have already Hoovered all important government data, exported it to external servers, and fed it to AI products that he owns. Musk could be cut off entirely from the government but still have control of its most sensitive data. This is happening right in front of our eyes with almost no objection.