this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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All U.S. Social Security numbers may need to be changed following a massive breach that is already being investigated as a national threat (www.ecoticias.com)
submitted 1 day ago by Cnote5@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
135 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

According to a protected disclosure filed with the Office of Special Counsel, Borges told the Government Accountability Project that DOGE officials working at Social Security created a “live copy” of the country’s Social Security records in a separate cloud environment that sidestepped usual security checks.

The group says those lapses put the Social Security information of more than 300 million Americans at risk.

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[–] ToTheGraveMyLove@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

How would changing social security numbers punish people?

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Someone has to pay for the new SSN system. Someone has to pay to maintain the database for the old system, since a lot of stuff is still reliant on those "old" numbers and will be for some time. Someone has to pay for printing and distributing new cards to everyone. Someone has to pay for gov employees to check IDs and verify people before distribution. Someone is going to have to pay for errors in the deployment. Someone is going to have to pay for the damage done by identity theft.

I would bet that someone will not be Elon, or anyone else at DOGE.

[–] ToTheGraveMyLove@sh.itjust.works 1 points 17 hours ago

Not with that attitude it won't be.

[–] Sunforged@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If you make the barrier to entry high enough that only people with money can get issued new and secure ssn would be one way.

The more devious thing would to just not allow folks on your "terrorist" list to be allowed new numbers. Now you would have a new way to justify filling your concentration camps.

To be clear I don't think currently anything like this is planned, this would just be the most fucked up way fascists could capitalize on their own fuck up. Also probably the only reason they would consider going through the hassle of a ssn restructuring.