Senators warn that Governor’s social security management could undermine interests
Democratic senators fear the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could undermine the Social Security Agency’s (SSA) technical infrastructure.
In a new letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden said Doge “rush to upgrade” the SSA IT system’s plans could undermine the delivery of benefits or lead to large-scale data losses. After the warning was issued, Wired reported in March that Doge officials planned to rebuild the SSA’s code base within a few months. Experts told Wired that the move was originally led by Steve Davis, a leading lieutenant and leader of Elon Musk, and could cause the system to crash.
“In short, Doch has limited access to benefits by damaging SSA’s technical infrastructure, and this urgent modernization plan will only exacerbate these problems,” the senator wrote in his letter.
As Doge penetrated SSA earlier this year, the agency’s website crashed countless times, making it difficult for beneficiaries to access their accounts. The Washington Post reported in April that the power outage could last for a few minutes to nearly a day. SSA officials have previously proposed plans to cut their workforce by 12% or about 7,000 jobs. Bisignano described plans to convert SSA into a “digital first” agent and rely heavily on artificial intelligence in an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
“Gate staff cut off the backend technology of Social Security without security is a recipe for disaster, not a serious update to the digital infrastructure of institutions,” Warren told Wired. “This much-needed job risk risking people’s private data, creating security gaps and potentially leading to catastrophic cuts.”
The senators called it the “end goal” to upgrade it to a “value goal” but called on officials to pursue it with “appropriate testing and safeguards.” For years, SSA has been trying to upgrade its COBOL-based data system, an old encoding language that few people can use engineers. However, these modernization plans usually take years, not months like Doge plans.
In the letter, the senator asked Bisignano to provide a detailed introduction to Doge’s role in upgrading SSA’s technology and any changes to the data sets and systems. They also requested any information related to potential hackers or data breaches related to this modernization effort. Senators asked Bisignano to respond by June 17.
“It’s an environment with release lines and tape,” a former SSA technologist works in the CIO’s office. “Leaders need to understand that they’re dealing with houses of cards or jenga. If they start pulling out pieces, they’ve said they’re doing it, things can break.”
