this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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According to a protected disclosure filed with the Office of Special Counsel, Borges told the Government Accountability Project that DOGE officials working at Social Security created a “live copy” of the country’s Social Security records in a separate cloud environment that sidestepped usual security checks.

The group says those lapses put the Social Security information of more than 300 million Americans at risk.

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[–] Archer@lemmy.world 15 points 3 hours ago

They actually need to publicly release everyone’s SSNs so that they can’t be used for authentication anymore, which they never should have been

[–] dan69@lemmy.world 16 points 4 hours ago

lol I can confirm this, just gave my ssn to a reputable company’s hr system. And it says that info is already exists..

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 121 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

What a perfect time to stop using social security numbers for specifically the thing they were not designed to be.

[–] TheMadCodger@piefed.social 3 points 1 hour ago

Except the dumfucks have railed against the idea of a national id number since before they removed "Not to be used for ID" from the SS cards. So instead we have a national id number that was never meant to be one and stupidly easy to figure out.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 135 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

All U.S. Social Security numbers may need to be changed

Yeah, sure, and winged monkeys may fly out of my ass. But I doubt it'll happen.

[–] sparky@lemmy.federate.cc 1 points 1 minute ago* (last edited 57 seconds ago)

Jim Carrey’s got you covered. https://youtu.be/_yRJOX1fppQ

[–] ButteryMonkey@piefed.social 23 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, honestly they have needed to be changed for years now, what with all the data breaches and stuff.. Pretty sure everyone’s info was leaked ages ago. Nothing has been done because this is how the people in charge want it.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 8 points 4 hours ago

We're the unwashed masses. Changing our social security numbers would mean considering us people worth more than a means of exploitation, and the ruling class couldn't possibly burden themselves with the mere thought.

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

It would have happened after Experian if it was ever possible for it to happen.

[–] roguetrick@lemmy.world 25 points 7 hours ago

For sure. They were fine invalidating mine and everybody else's Puerto Rican birth certificate but they'll never put this sort of administrative burden in action.

[–] XLE@piefed.social 57 points 7 hours ago

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.

I don't know if I'd call them a little-known team (they're infamous for basically fraud), but point taken.

[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 43 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Let me guess... just in time for a 2028 election where we all suddenly need our valid SSN?

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 12 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

The Trump administration is building a computer system so that States can 'verify' a person's citizenship prior to allowing them to vote.

This system has failed in many, many ways. That makes me think that they would use the SSN database and other intelligence sources in order to setup the system to fail at a much higher rate for everyone but likely MAGA voters.

[–] P1nkman@lemmy.world 4 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

This is a conspiracy I can get behind!

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

This is a conspiracy I can get behind!

Oh yeah this part is 100% my personal inference:

That makes me think that they would use the SSN database and other intelligence sources in order to setup the system to fail at a much higher rate for everyone but likely MAGA voters.

It isn't completely baseless, the DHS has created a tool called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE. The push on the right is to make it so that everyone has to prove their citizenship in order to vote. So a system like this SAVE system is what they would want to put in place to make it easy to 'verify citizenship' at polling places.

Having an electronic tool who's underlying system is a complete black box and exclusively controlled by the executive branch which has been shown to incorrectly identify people's citizenship status would allow a group acting in bad faith to surreptitiously introduce 'errors' that affect voters who have been identified (by the domestic spy network that is Google and Co.) as being likely opposition voters.

I'm not saying that this is what IS happening. I'm saying that this system is exactly the kind of system that you would design if you were trying to do what I'm suggesting.

Here's a source about the system, because you shouldn't just trust 'people' on the Internet:

https://www.propublica.org/article/save-voter-citizenship-tool-mistakes-confusion

[–] guywithoutaname@lemmy.world 61 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Regardless of whether or not they are breached, the social security numbering system needs to be changed because it is far from a secure number.

[–] dgriffith@aussie.zone 48 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

because it is far from a secure number.

It is only the American obsession with using it as a unique identifier for everything in their lives that has caused this issue.

[–] SketchySeaBeast@lemmy.ca 45 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

The problem is they are using Identification for authentication.

[–] Eheran@lemmy.world 8 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

It is not even identification, it is literally just a number that anyone can use.

[–] WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 19 points 7 hours ago

That's true of all names. Names are still a form of identification. But it doesn't authenticate that you are a specific person.

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 10 points 7 hours ago

You say that like we had any part in every single service asking for our SSN lmfao

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 15 points 8 hours ago

It would be less expensive to simply trust everyone. Administering a numbering system and trying to prevent fraud costs more than the actual fraud it prevents, and does nothing to prevent the larger frauds.

It's like having a chain on the pen at the bank, with a security guard watching the chain, and three managers making aure the secuirty guard is watching the chain all day, but the cash drawers are open and the three managers simply help themselves to as much cash as they like.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 30 points 7 hours ago

I'm less upset that all SSNs might end up compromised and more upset that no one is going to get punished for it. If a career Federal Employee did this, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

But since it was Elon's friends who did it, everyone in power will just shrug and say "who knew this would be such a big deal"....

[–] ToTheGraveMyLove@sh.itjust.works 48 points 8 hours ago (1 children)
[–] runsmooth@kopitalk.net 16 points 8 hours ago

A cynic in me suggests that this may be a move to push people off the system and disenfranchise them entirely, or the new rationale to create a second class of people who are forced to live with increased digital vulnerability while a new class of numbers can be generated with different privileges.

[–] Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 16 points 8 hours ago

They “leak” the numbers, then only issue new ones to the people they like…

[–] Akh@lemmy.world 11 points 7 hours ago

Seems like an attempt to interfere with the elections by the administration

[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Soooo here is a general question about cybersecurity.

Is it really important if there are no consequences to breeches?

Same way big business see fines as a cost of doing business, I think we are getting to a time that breaches might become part of business as usual.

I actually think that’s a good thing as a person who promotes self hosting. If the assumption becomes that your data is never safe in corporate hands, people might move away from having their entire lives on the cloud.

[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 hours ago

To a degree, it already is business as usual for these firms (look at their underinvestment in IT infrastructure). The issue for the self-hosting community is that not enough of the population is technologically literate enough to understand the risks of using these platforms (insert any Meta/Bytedance/Microsoft/Amazon platform here), and the critical mass of users will remain perpetually vulnerable.

With that being said, for those with the literacy required, self-hosting is a secure breath of fresh air.

[–] HuntressHimbo@lemmy.zip 9 points 8 hours ago

Makes me want to scream. Social security as is sucks. Current regime would use its reconstruction to wreak unimaginable cruelty on everyone they can, but the current system needs to go. We need to build systems outside state control to fill every need that can be denied to people based on access to the social security system. 🙃😡💀

[–] goatinspace@feddit.org 8 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

So they want to rewrite cobol in java testing with a clone of live db in a big tech cloud?🦧

[–] assembly@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

They’re just going to vibe code it in React with NodeJS

[–] goatinspace@feddit.org 2 points 6 hours ago

Royally grok it all up, so to say

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 6 points 8 hours ago

Aw shit, sorry, the department tasked with protecting citizens against cyber threats are all assigned to immigration enforcement duty. Have fun, byeee!

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago

Fortunately the generation that got them tattooed isn't around for this