Federal investigators are examining allegations that a former government operative removed highly sensitive Social Security data on a portable thumb drive and planned to share it with his private employer, according to a recent report by The Washington Post.
The Social Security inspector general's office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach. The individual in question, identified as John Solly in media coverage, worked at the Social Security Administration as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative before departing last year.
According to the report, a former DOGE software engineer who worked at Social Security before starting a job at a government contractor in October allegedly told co-workers that he had two databases of U.S. citizens' information, and had at least one on a thumb drive. The databases in question, known as "Numident" and the "Master Death File," contain records on more than 500 million living and deceased Americans, and include Social Security numbers, dates and places of birth, citizenship status, race and ethnicity, and the names of parents.
The complaint further alleges that the former engineer asked a colleague for help transferring the data from the thumb drive to his personal computer so he could eventually upload it to his company's system, according to documents reviewed by journalists. However, the complaint does not claim that he ultimately succeeded in transferring the information.
The individual named in reports now works as a division chief technology officer at Leidos, a government contractor. Solly and Leidos, his current employer, strongly deny the allegations. A lawyer representing the individual told The Washington Post he denied all alleged wrongdoing, the outlet reported.
The investigation comes amid ongoing scrutiny of DOGE's broader access to Social Security data. The investigation follows a Social Security Administration disclosure in January that DOGE employees secretly and improperly shared sensitive personal data in 2025 and that the agency could not verify the extent of the violations. In January, two DOGE members were suspected of accessing and sharing Social Security numbers that were off-limits to them as part of an effort to aid an advocacy group that intended to "overturn election results in certain States," according to a lawsuit.
Congressional Democrats have called for expanded investigations. A senior congressional figure wants communications from DOGE representatives John Solly, Edward Coristine, Aram Moghaddassi, and Mike Russo. The senator has called to immediately halt all DOGE work and data access at the Social Security Administration; conduct a thorough review of the agency's security practices.
From a governance standpoint, the allegations raise fundamental questions about institutional accountability and data stewardship. The former chief data officer of the Social Security Administration told NPR the allegations made in the new whistleblower complaint would have "generational consequences" if true, saying "once that data has 'left the building', you cannot close Pandora's box again."
The Social Security Administration initially denied the allegations. A spokesperson for the agency accused media outlets of fear-mongering, stating that the allegations by an anonymous source had been strongly refuted by all named parties.