A whistleblower has claimed that more than 300 million Americans’ Social Security data was put at risk after Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials uploaded sensitive information to a cloud account without proper oversight.
This sensitive information includes potential health diagnoses, income, banking information, familial relationships, and personal biographic data.
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The whistleblower warned that if “bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for re-issuing every American a new Social Security Number at great cost.”
The Social Security Administration (SSA) responded to these accusations by stating that it takes whistleblower complaints seriously, but seemed to downplay the accusations.
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The SSA affirmed that “all personal data in secure environments that have robust safeguards in place to protect vital information” and that the data in question is in a “long-standing environment used by SSA and walled off from the internet.” It also stated they are “not aware of any compromise to this environment.”
According to experts, there could be a significant potential risk to personal data due to government actions.
Experts share essential steps Americans should take now to protect their Social Security information.
Image source: Growtika on Unsplash
Two steps to protect your identity
So what advice do financial planners have to help individuals protect their identity in response to this particular situation or generally?
âPeople donât need to panic,â said Melissa Caro, a certified financial planner with My Retirement Network. âIncidents like this are unsettling, but theyâre also a reminder that our personal information is exposed in different ways all the time, not just in this case.â
The reality, she said, is that Social Security numbers and other identifiers have been compromised many times before, so the key is making sure youâre taking basic, ongoing precautions.
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According to Caro, two of the most effective steps are:
- Signing up for free accounts with all three credit bureaus so you can review your reports and address any issues you may not even know are there. You can get free credit reports weekly by visiting the only authorized website under federal law: AnnualCreditReport.com. This site provides direct access to reports from the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), allowing you to monitor your credit information for accuracy and detect potential identity theft.
- Placing a credit freeze, which makes it much harder for anyone to open new accounts in your name. Catherine Valega, a certified financial planner with Green Bee Advisory, agrees with the advice: âYou should immediately freeze all of your credit bureau profiles.â
âBoth of these steps are free and more powerful than most paid âidentity protectionâ services,â Caro said.
Beyond that, Caro said it comes down to controlling what you can. Use strong, unique passwords with multifactor authentication, and be skeptical of unsolicited calls, texts, or emails claiming to be from Social Security or your bank.
âThis situation may have grabbed headlines, but the broader point is that these are steps everyone should be taking regardless, because the risk of exposure is constant,â said Caro.
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