Notes marked “Internal/Confidential” at the March 18 meeting showed that DOL’s attorneys outlined Dol’s interaction with Doge to colleagues. “So far,” the notes read, “they don’t have written access. They asked; we’ve held them in the bay. We tried to get them to tell us what they want, and then what we do. They only have reading access.” According to the notes, Doge seems to be primarily interested in the compensation system and grants and signed an agreement detailing “a long list of things they won’t do.”
The comments also detail the interactions of GAO and DOL related to Doge’s work. Includes a set of specific requests that Gao gives to the DOL representative:
“Please make sure to provide any systems and information from USD and/or agent Doge team staff. To do so, please make sure all accounts created, including accounts for any application, server, database, mainframe and/or network devices.
“Please describe the type of access (e.g., reading, writing, execution) of the USD and/or agent Doge team staff must use the agent system and information.
“Please describe USD and/or Agent Doge Team employees accessing agent systems and information (e.g., local or remote, agency-provided devices or other devices).
“Please describe safeguards that determine USD and/or agent team staff to protect the confidentiality, integrity of the agent system and the availability of institutional systems and information consistent with relevant laws and guidance.
“Please describe the process that the agency has to ensure that the USDS and DOGE teams properly protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of agency systems and information, applicable to applicable laws and guidance?”
Concerns about Doge entering the proxy system are not without basis. In February, Wired reported that 25-year-old former X engineer Marko Elez can not only read code in the treasury system, but also write or change it. With such access, there is concern that he might have the potential to cut down payments authorized by Congress or cause the system to simply stop working. “It’s like knowing that there are hackers on your network, but no one lets you do anything about it,” a Treasury employee told Wired at the time.
Elez also has access to DOL and connects with the Social Security Agency, according to the March 18 meeting notes and the previous Wired Report. At present, his and other Doge branches have limited access to SSA data due to court orders. Elez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since then, reports from cable and other media have continued to reveal a comprehensive attempt to access sensitive data and potential consequences for Doge. President Donald Trump has directed agencies to start “eliminating information silos” from an executive order starting March 20, allegedly to fight fraud and waste. These actions may also threaten privacy by combining personal data contained on different systems into a central repository.
A record detailing an initial request from GAO for DOL documents, due at the end of March, shows that the agency was asked to show how it protected its systems, with the requested documentation covering, among other things, its policies on management of access to system accounts, training, the principles of separation of duties and least privilege, the use of portable storage devices, audit logging, and its insider threat Program. These requests cite the information systems and organization’s privacy controls of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a set of information security guidelines for federal systems that are not related to national security.
