New Report of DOGE Operatives Mishandling Americans’ SSA Data Emerges

In June, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) operatives uploaded a copy of a Social Security Administration (SSA) database to a cloud server without proper security, exposing Americans’ highly sensitive SSA data to potential identity theft and exploitation, according to a whistleblower complaint filed by SSA Chief Data Officer Charles Borges.

The database, often referred to as the “Numident file,” houses records that include full names, addresses, dates of birth, and many other private details for everyone who has ever held a Social Security number, living and deceased. The file likely contains hundreds of millions of records, as the agency has issued more than 500 million numbers since 1935.

DOGE leaders worked to copy the information to the server despite multiple warnings that Americans’ personal information could be exposed in the process. Aram Moghaddassi, a former employee at Elon Musk’s X and Neuralink corporations, was one of the DOGE officials who signed off on the effort to transfer data, saying “I have determined the business need is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks.”

The complaint also alleges that DOGE bypassed security protocols when it tried to access SSA data in March, and ignored a temporary restraining order issued in a lawsuit filed by the Alliance, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) earlier this year. Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued the TRO on March 20, but DOGE staffers continued accessing data before being locked out on March 24.

This account corroborates previous testimony from Tiffany Flick, a former SSA staffer who filed a declaration in the Alliance’s case, stating that DOGE operatives displayed a blatant disregard for data security policies and procedure.

“This latest revelation about DOGE’s unprecedented access is deeply troubling and outrageous,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “President Trump just pledged to protect Social Security, but SSA is reeling from staffing cuts and now beneficiaries’ personal information is at risk because of DOGE’s actions. Older Americans should not have to worry about whether the benefits they have earned will actually be paid and whether their private data is handled with care.”

Save the Date: Alliance Retirement Security Symposium on November 19

The Alliance's annual Retirement Security Symposium will be held on Wednesday, November 19, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. and also streamed online.

The event will examine the looming retirement security crisis and bring together labor movement leaders, policy experts, and many others. Participants will hear about important labor and retirement security issues, including defined benefit pensions and Social Security.

“This symposium will provide resources and tools for individuals and organizations so they are better prepared to strengthen retirement security for the nation and themselves. This mission has become even more critical as 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “More details will follow as the event approaches.”

To indicate your interest in attending the event and/or if you have any questions, please contact Joni Jones at [email protected] / 202-637-5377.

Labor Day: Union Support Continues to Grow as Workers Face New Threats

During the State of the Unions address on Wednesday, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler highlighted the continued surge in support for labor unions and connected it to the unprecedented threats that workers are currently facing from the Administration. She also drew attention to how workers are struggling to make ends meet amid rising prices and growing income inequality. The address featured a clip of Pennsylvania Alliance leader Jody Weinreich speaking about how important it is to protect Social Security for current and future generations of retirees.

A recent Gallup poll shows that union approval growth has remained steady, staying within the 67 to 71 percent range for the past five years. AFL-CIO data confirms this surge in labor union popularity, showing that support is particularly high among the most vulnerable workers, with 75 percent of Americans who describe

themselves as “very worried” about their economic future reporting that they view unions favorably.

The AFL-CIO is offering space for workers to mobilize and organize next week by hosting Workers Labor Day events across the country centered around a common theme: “Workers Deserve: Freedom, Fairness, and Dignity.”

“Next Monday is not just Labor Day, it's the start of Labor Week. Marches, rallies and trainings, hundreds of thousands of working people coming together from this coming weekend to the next, kicking off the single biggest year of action from now until next Labor Day in the history of this movement,” said Shuler. “Every single thing working people have won for ourselves in this country, it's not because we asked those in power, it's not because they were handed to us, it's because we fought for them relentlessly by organizing and mobilizing and using our collective power.”

Click here to find a Labor Day event near you.

KFF Health News: How Older People Are Reaping Brain Benefits From New Tech
By Paula Span

It started with a high school typing course.

Wanda Woods enrolled because her father advised that typing proficiency would lead to jobs. Sure enough, the federal Environmental Protection Agency hired her as an after-school worker while she was still a junior.

Her supervisor “sat me down and put me on a machine called a word processor,” Woods, now 67, recalled. “It was big and bulky and used magnetic cards to store information. I thought, ‘I kinda like this.’”

Decades later, she was still liking it. In 2012 — the first year that more than half of Americans 65 and older were internet users — she started a computer training business.

Now she is an instructor with Senior Planet in Denver, an AARP-supported effort to help older people learn and stay abreast of technology. Woods has no plans to retire. Staying involved with tech “keeps me in the know, too,” she said.

Some neuroscientists researching the effects of technology on older adults are inclined to agree. The first cohort of seniors to have contended — not always enthusiastically — with a digital society has reached the age when cognitive impairment becomes more common.

Given decades of alarms about technology’s threats to our brains and well-being — sometimes called “digital dementia” — one might expect to start seeing negative effects.

The opposite appears true. “Among the digital pioneer generation, use of everyday digital technology has been associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia,” said Michael Scullin, a cognitive neuroscientist at Baylor University.