topic Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach. in SmorgasBoard

All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

AndrewF — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 23:05:12 GMT

All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/all-u-s-social-security-numbers-may-need-to-be-changed-following-a-massive-breach-that-is-already-being-investigated-as-a-national-threat/27158/

"Every American who has ever had a Social Security number may now be living with a hidden risk that never really expires.

That is the warning from Chuck Borges, the former chief data officer at the Social Security Administration, who calls the situation a “national security disaster” in an interview with MarketWatch.

Borges alleges that a little-known federal tech team called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, copied the government’s master Social Security database into a cloud system that lacked normal oversight.

If his account is correct, the mishandling of this information could expose hundreds of millions of people to fraud and abuse for the rest of their lives."

There already is a big risk from other sources. Almost everyone with an SSN has already had it taken in breaches. Everything from MoveIT to Capital One.

What people can do to protect themselves from fraud is pretty pitiful really. If someone knows your SSN it's almost already game over for anything you might do to protect yourself.

It used to require knowing your Security Freeze PIN to unfreeze your credit profile with the bureaus, however if you forgot you could still bypass it by writing to them and sending copies of your government issued photo ID and Social Security card, and a utility bill or something official with your address on it.

Since then they took that requirement out. Anyone who calls the credit bureau, says they're you or your spouse, and punches in your SSN, can lift a freeze, whether they're actually you or not. When I did this for myself, I asked "How does this protect anyone from anything?"

Along with the security freezes, I've also registered with login.gov and id.me so nobody else can do that, and created accounts with all the bureaus including LexisNexis and Innovis, and I've done security freezes *and* fraud alerts. Still, I keep an eye on my credit files to make sure nobody is going around pretending to be me.

But a breach of the SSA itself is extremely bad.

Data privacy laws were completely disregarded by DOGE employees masquerading as employees of the Social Security Administration. They exfiltrated the data and put it on a private cloud where it was not authorized to be at, and slipped it to political activists and other people, whose possession of that data constituted a felony.

And it affects everyone in the United States.

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

CreditCuriosity — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:31:41 GMT

Your SSN and everyone elses SSN is already out there 50x over from all the data breaches across the CRAs, Banks, stores, etc, etc etc.. Nothing new to see here.

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

crystal626 — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 03:01:51 GMT

@CreditCuriosity wrote:
Your SSN and everyone elses SSN is already out there 50x over from all the data breaches across the CRAs, Banks, stores, etc, etc etc.. Nothing new to see here.

Yeah but that's not all the data that Social Security has.

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

AndrewF — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 05:07:45 GMT

@crystal626 wrote:
@CreditCuriosity wrote:
Your SSN and everyone elses SSN is already out there 50x over from all the data breaches across the CRAs, Banks, stores, etc, etc etc.. Nothing new to see here.
Yeah but that's not all the data that Social Security has.

Right, there's detailed information about everyone who is on Social Security, which program it is, what their income is, where they live, which bank routing and account numbers their benefit check is deposited into. Lots of stuff.

Probably a lot of information we don't even know about. If you're on Social Security Disability, then they might have leaked all your medical files and your continuing disability reviews.

There's of course all the data they have on people who pay into Social Security, like where they work and what their earnings are each year from their tax return records.

They have phone numbers for everyone who is on the program. They might have leaked everything Medicare has on you including your Medicare number and claims records. They are part of the same overall program.

They could leak the citizenship status of everyone with an SSN. Not everyone with an SSN is eligible for benefits, but their earnings are tracked in case they ever get a green card, or US citizenship.

There's also the Death Master File.

Tons of things Social Security has and no private entity could leak.

If data breaches are like oil spills, then the SSA DOGE scandal is like the Exxon-Valdez.

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

Varsity_Lu — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:53:25 GMT

@AndrewF wrote:

"may now be living with a hidden risk..."

"Borges alleges..."

"If his account is correct..."

Chuck Borges is an anti-Trump Democrat hired by the previous administration who is the middle of a Senate election campaign in Maryland. Notice he doesn't provide any real evidence, just a lot of maybes and ifs. This is a classic mud slinging to see what sticks campaign technique. As someone once said, "The nature of the evidence is irrelevant; it’s the seriousness of the charge that matters".

This is a political stunt to help him get elected.

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

TrapLine — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:20:41 GMT

Do appreciate the sharing of this information.

To comment would require violatining TOS (so I won't).

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

fm92555 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:29:50 GMT

There is no way in hell the government is changing peoples SSN.

It takes an act of god. I know, I have had mine changed and there is no way they are doing it for everyone in the country.

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

AndrewF — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:27:47 GMT

@fm92555 wrote:
There is no way in hell the government is changing peoples SSN.

It takes an act of god. I know, I have had mine changed and there is no way they are doing it for everyone in the country.

What did you have to go through to get them to change it?

Re: All SSNs may need changed after DOGE breach.

ptatohed — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:23:32 GMT

First 5 words......... "All SSNs may need changed"

As my friend Todd Jones used to say way back in Elementary / Middle School: "Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude"