--- title: "Elon Musk’s Plan for Americans’ Sensitive Data Has Security Experts Terrified" description: "Elon Musk's DOGE is trying to pool data from across federal agencies into one big repository. Basic security know-how says that's idiotic." date: "2025-05-11" modified: "2025-05-11" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/doge-elon-musk-data-hackers" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "data security" - "doge" - "elon musk" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk’s Plan for Americans’ Sensitive Data Has Security Experts Terrified ![Elon Musk looking smug]() *\Image: Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty / Futurism\* ## Silver Platter Elon Musk's [ever-alarming]() Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now wants to consolidate the federal government's vast data reserves. They're currently siloed across government agencies, and DOGE wants to merge them into a sprawling centralized database. Unsurprisingly, security experts [told ]()*[The Washington Post]()* that's a terrible idea. It's not hard to see why. China hasn't [upped]() its [hacking efforts]() just for kicks; data is incredibly powerful, and hacking groups and foreign adversaries are always trying to get their hands on sensitive information about American citizens and residents, lawmakers, agencies, and companies. As conventional security wisdom goes, keeping that sensitive information in separate, protected piles across agencies not only makes it more difficult for hackers to find data, but if there's a breach, ensures that adversaries only get their hands on one small slice of a much bigger pie. In short, it's the difference between sending treasure hunters to find and collect individual coins that have been scattered across an ocean, or sending them after one big pot of gold. Which one would you rather track down? "Separation and segmentation is one of the core principles in sound cybersecurity," Charles Henderson, an executive at the security firm Coalfire, told *WaPo.* "Putting all your eggs in one basket means I don't need to go hunting for them — I can just steal the basket." ## Wider Concerns Privacy and civil rights groups are also concerned about the cross-agency pooling of federal data, as combining data from across government agencies — from health services to immigration, social security, workforce-related agencies, and so on — can paint more holistic ([and thus more targeted and exploitable)]() portraits of specific US citizens and residents. As Faith Williams, director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program at the Project on Government Oversight, told *WaPo*, you "want people to have the least amount of access that they absolutely need." "So if someone comes in and asks a question," she added, "it's not 'here's the master key.'" ## Brain Genius Defense Squad In a statement to *WaPo*, the White House severely downplayed valid security concerns, with a spokesperson urging that DOGE is comprised of "some of the brightest cybersecurity minds in the nation" and that "every action taken is fully compliant with the law." "President Trump is leading the charge to modernize the federal government and make it more efficient — and DOGE is playing a critical role in fulfilling that vision," said the spokesperson, per *WaPo*. "By advancing secure data-sharing across agencies, DOGE is enhancing accountability, eliminating fraud, and streamlining operations across the board." **More on DOGE:** [*Elon Musk Using Private Data to Build List of People to Deport*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()