EPIC: DOGE Committed 'Largest Data Breach in American History'

“This unprecedented breach of privacy and security implicates the personal information of tens of millions of people, including nearly all federal employees and millions of members of the American public,” the complaint said. “DOGE Defendants have exceeded the scope of their legal authority by accessing and controlling OPM and Treasury systems. These ultra vires actions have resulted in unlawful disclosure of the contents of these systems, violated Plaintiffs’ constitutional right to privacy of information, and endangered the security of the information they contain.”

The complaint alleges Elon Musk, head of DOGE, illegally forced the Treasury and OPM to disclose personal information to unauthorized personnel, blocking civil servants and gaining full access to government payment systems. These systems contain sensitive personal information, including social security numbers, taxpayer ID numbers and home addresses, for millions of individuals, EPIC said. The U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia assigned case 1:25-cv-00255 to Judge Rossie Alston on Tuesday.

Asked about the privacy advocates' lawsuit Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned "a continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump." She said the White House will continue to fight and expects to win in court. "The President has every right to exercise his executive authority on behalf of the American people, who gave him a historic mandate to govern on November 5th.”

“We believe that the illegal seizure of personnel records and payment system data poses an immediate and existential threat to the privacy and security of all Americans, and we are working diligently to stand up and challenge these unlawful actions,” Alan Butler, EPIC executive director, said on Bluesky. EPIC requested in the complaint that the court block Musk and DOGE’s access to Treasury and OPM databases and implement measures that “prevent a data breach of this scale from harming Americans again,” the consumer privacy group posted in the same thread.

Security risks from the ongoing breach have continued to escalate, EPIC said, as screenshots of sensitive information leaked from the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) systems have been posted on X, the Musk-owned social media platform.

“This is a massive and egregious breach of privacy that impacts the private information of millions of Americans,” said Democracy Forward CEO Skye Perryman in a statement. Democracy Forward joined EPIC in the lawsuit. “This seizure of personal data is the latest part of DOGE’s sweeping campaign to gain access to highly-sensitive information and weaponize the government. We will use every tool available to prevent these types of harmful and unauthorized actions by the administration.”

A slew of lawsuits have been filed against Musk and DOGE recently, including by a coalition of Democratic attorneys general (see 2502070050), the University of California Student Association (see 2502100074) and a federal employee union (see 2502100068). Consumer advocates predict a continued legal clampdown on the issue (see 2502100060).