An OPM staffer believes that a server Elon Musk's associates installed, with access to federal staff info like SSNs, has not had a Privacy Impact Assessment
www.wired.com/story/elon-m... Tim Marchman / @timmarchman : NEW: A 25-year-old who's worked for Elon Musk companies now has direct control over a Treasury system disbursements from which amount to a fifth of the US economy. He does not, our sources say, have “read only” access, but high-level admin privileges on a mainframe housing all the code. @murshedz : “The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It's also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.” — Absolutely insane. @wired.com : Two of those sources say that Elez's privileges include the ability not just to read but to write code on two of the most sensitive systems in the US government: The Payment Automation Manager (PAM) and Secure Payment System (SPS) at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). @lolgop : Nobody's going to go along with me calling them Elon's “Blood Boys,” right? Mike Masnick / @mmasnick : Just pointing out that Elon Musk, government employee, removing content from ExTwitter criticizing government employees, seems like the kind of First Amendment issue that old Elon Musk was concerned about: www.techdirt.com/2025/02/03/ m... Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal / @jayapal.house.gov : Treasury's payment system ensures that Social Security checks, Medicare payments, and more go out. — Now, Elon Musk is sticking his hands in there and firing anyone in his way. — He's trying to steal from the American people. We'll keep fighting to stop him. — www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u... Micah / @rincewind.run : one of the defining features of the techbro dipshits now running the USA is their absolute refusal to consider that anyone, ever, has thought about problems before them — time after time they come in, propose a solution that was rejected years ago because it's stupid, and call themselves geniuses [embedded post] Molly White / @molly.wiki : an unelected billionaire storming into US agencies, installing his unqualified and unapproved lackeys, purging civil servants, seizing access to sensitive data and payments, unilaterally eliminating federal agencies: fine — identifying the lackeys: illegal [images] Joshua J. Friedman / @joshuajfriedman.com : “Defendants' actions in this case potentially run roughshod over a ‘bulwark of the Constitution’ by interfering with Congress's appropriation of federal funds.” OMB “attempted to wrest the power of the purse away from the only branch of government entitled to wield it.” [image] Congresswoman Nanette Barragán / @repbarragan : It's alarming & dangerous to have unelected billionaire Elon Musk & his gang of thieves gain illegal access to sensitive fed'l payment systems—like Social Security, & personal & health info of fed'l employees & millions of American citizens. Democrats will fight these unprecedented actions. @kinosminion : And without vetting it, what other systems may have their security degraded, or be further exposed to compromise, because of this action? @martinsfp : “'They have access to the code itself, which means they can make updates to anything that they want,' the staffer explained.” [embedded post] Rep. Salud Carbajal / @carbajal.house.gov : Imagine the outrage if Joe Biden had given an unelected billionaire special access to government systems & data that could threaten assistance & personal information for millions. — I will work in Congress to ensure the law is upheld and Americans are protected. Rep. Kevin Mullin / @repkevinmullin : Deeply concerned Elon Musk & DOGE got access to Treasury data & Social Security & Medicare payment systems. Getting a ton of calls from residents concerned about their personal data being shared with an unelected billionaire. I'm committed to protecting against this. — www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u... Rep. Richard Neal / @neal.house.gov : 1/ To all of my constituents that have called my office regarding an unelected billionaire having access to sensitive federal payment systems and confidential tax information, I hear you. — www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u... Caleb Ecarma / @calebecarma : New: Musk and his minions have illegally installed a commercial server to control federal HR databases that contain sensitive personal information, including SSNs, home addresses, and medical histories, according to an OPM staffer www.muskwatch.com/p/musk-assoc... Nathan Tankus / @nathantankus : There is nothing more important on the entire planet than getting Elon Musk & DOGE out of the BFS & allowing career civil service employees to run the Treasury's internal payments system without capricious and self-serving interference from billionaires and their allies Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 11. There are acute security risks. “China and Russia are literally trying to hack us every day and we just gave all this data over to somebody that's not been properly vetted,” an OPM staffers said. “It's not just Amanda Scales, it's all the [political appointees] in that office right now.” Tony Tellez / @tonytellez : but but her email server...... Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 9. Among the databases Musk's team now controls: — USAJobs (Social Security numbers, home addresses, employment records of anyone who applies for a federal job) — EHRI (SS #, birthdate, salaries, addresses, job descriptions, disciplinary history of federal workers) — HI (Private health info) Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 10. A new server used to control these databases has been placed in a conference room that Musk's team is using as a command center. An OPM staffer described the server as a piece of commercial hardware they believed was not obtained through the proper federal procurement process. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 8. One of the OPM staffers received an email from the agency's new leadership instructing them to give Musk's team “access [to] the system as an admin user” and “code read and write permissions.” — The level of access is unprecedented. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 5. Edward Coristine, another 2022 high school graduate and former software engineering intern at Musk's Neuralink, has also been given access to the databases. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 4. Among those with unprecedented access is University of California Berkeley student Akash Bobba, a software engineer who graduated high school less than three years ago. He previously interned at Meta and Palantir, a technology firm chaired by Musk-ally Peter Thiel. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 2. According to two members of OPM staff with direct knowledge, the Musk team running OPM has the ability to extract information from databases that store medical histories, personally identifiable information, workplace evaluations, and other private data. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 3. The staffers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and feared professional retaliation. Musk Watch also reviewed internal OPM correspondence confirming that expansive access to the database was provided to Musk associates. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 1. BREAKING — Several of Elon Musk's associates installed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) — including two recent high school graduates — have received unprecedented access to federal human resources databases containing sensitive personal information for millions of federal employees. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : Musk claims the authority to personally destroy an independent federal agency. [image] Threads: Adam Schiff / @senadamschiff : I support this. Elon Musk cannot dismantle USAID without an act of Congress. Democrats must use every lever at our disposal to block his illegal takeover and shutdown of an essential government agency. X: Jarvis / @jarvis_best : Like five people who understand how computers work show up in DC and within two weeks restructure the entire system that's been in place since WWII that's wild @canderaid : private servers for sensitive government information are fine now Kyle Russell / @kylebrussell : We didn't use personnel who have gone through the (broken, deters actual talent) hiring process! And they just... used a server they wanted! It wasn't correct procured!! And there wasn't an IMPACT ASSESSMENT!!!? c'mon y'all Jackie Singh / @hackingbutlegal : Musk with admin rights, third party unvetted servers, “code read and write permissions”. Cybersecurity is dead at OPM. https://www.muskwatch.com/... Caleb Ecarma / @calebecarma : New by me: Musk and his minions have illegally installed a commercial server to control federal HR databases that contain sensitive personal information, including SSNs, home addresses, and medical histories, according to an OPM staffer https://www.muskwatch.com/... [image] Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 1. BREAKING Several Musk associates installed at OPM — including two recent high school graduates — have received unprecedented access to federal human resources databases containing sensitive personal information for millions of federal employees. 🧵 Bakari Sellers / @bakari_sellers : This is literally a crime. Attorneys General from across the country should bring suits and criminal charges against those illegally accessing our personal data. Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 2. According to two members of OPM staff with direct knowledge, the Musk team running OPM can now extract information from databases that store medical histories, personally identifiable information, workplace evaluations, and other private data https://www.muskwatch.com/... Joe Patrice / @josephpatrice : Remember when putting emails about risotto on a private server was a big deal? Patrick S. Tomlinson / @stealthygeek : This is the largest data theft in history. Arrest them immediately. @tnoquoproquid : gonna be real, elon taking every alleged dem scandal from the past 10 years and doing a bizarro, massively inflated version of it is a great bit. the general shrug of disinterest from the mainstream DC press makes it even better. Matthew Gertz / @mattgertz : A private... server? Sarah / @sarah_micheleg : [image] Sam Lisker / @slisker : Senator Wyden: “The ‘Musk Hatchet Brigade’ has infiltrated a gold mine of data that every foreign spy and every corrupt actor would love to see. It is a prescription for nightmares.” [image] Victor Shi / @victorshi2020 : THIS is the fire I want to see from every Dem: “Elon Musk, you may have illegally seized power over financial systems of the Treasury but you don't control money of American people. Congress does that. We don't have a 4th branch of gov called ‘Elon Musk.’” [video] Chad Pergram / @chadpergram : Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) on Musk/DOGE accessing Treasury payment information: These are incompetent people. They don't care about the damage they're doing. We're one step away from economic catastrophe Forums: r/AnythingGoesNews : Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data r/antiwork : I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. r/Fuckthealtright : I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. r/economicCollapse : I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. r/Futurism : Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data r/the_everything_bubble : Elon Musk Says Regulations Should Be ‘Default Gone’ r/Foodforthought : Elon Musk Says Regulations Should Be ‘Default Gone’ r/KeepOurNetFree : Musk Shows Us What Actual Government Censorship On Social Media Looks Like r/politics : Musk Shows Us What Actual Government Censorship On Social Media Looks Like r/politics : Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call r/AnythingGoesNews : I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. r/uspolitics : Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data r/feddiscussion : I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. r/usajobs : Musk has control of USA jobs to say the least r/politics : Elon Musk Makes His Most Terrifying Power Grab Yet: Elon Musk and his DOGE henchmen are using an illegal server to seize all federal workers' private data. r/politics : I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. r/solarpunk : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach r/Political_Revolution : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach. “A massive intrusion of this scale taken against a system of secure government computer networks is unprecedented.” r/IronFrontUSA : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach | DCMediaGroup r/antiwork : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach - DCMediaGroup. Fuck Trump and Apartheid Clyde r/TheSecondTerm : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach - DCMediaGroup r/behindthebastards : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach r/inthenews : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach. “A massive intrusion of this scale taken against a system of secure government computer networks is unprecedented.” r/washingtondc : Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach
Context & Ripple Effects
The report places DOGE-linked access to OPM personnel systems alongside claims of elevated administrative access to Treasury payment infrastructure. It also precedes reporting that an OPM staff email was designed to make responses usable for AI, linking workforce data collection to a broader push for centralized operational control.
Later coverage described plans for a DOGE centralized repository of personal data, while the dismantling of 18F showed how the efficiency agenda could reshape the government teams that build and oversee digital services.
First-order effects
- OPM’s handling of federal employee records faces immediate compliance and security scrutiny if the reported server was deployed without a Privacy Impact Assessment; the system reportedly touches identifiers, health information and employment histories.
- Musk associates’ reported ability to operate infrastructure connected to HR databases concentrates practical access to highly sensitive federal workforce data outside OPM’s established technology and procurement processes.
Second-order effects
- OPM, Congress and federal security officials are likely to face pressure to establish who authorized the system, what data it can reach and whether access controls and procurement rules were followed.
- The reported access heightens concern around efforts to reuse personnel inputs for automation, including the OPM email whose responses were reportedly intended for AI use, because collection, storage and downstream analysis become part of the same governance question.
Third-order effects
- If agencies continue consolidating sensitive records into rapidly deployed systems, privacy assessment and access-control processes risk becoming a bottleneck—or a contested guardrail—for government modernization.
- The larger institutional issue is whether efficiency-driven technology changes can retain independent oversight when the same actors can alter systems and gain access to the underlying data.
The trend: This is one data point in the shift from agency-by-agency administration toward centralized, automation-ready control of government data and operations.