# DOGE data push raises privacy fears: Should you freeze your credit?

[](https://www.freep.com/staff/2646314001/susan-tompor/)

**Detroit Free Press**

## Feel the fear: How to deal with data and privacy concerns

### Fear someone will get their hands on your data and open a new credit card? What to do next

Consumers are besieged nearly every day about some news about Elon Musk’s latest moves at the Department of Government Efficiency to gain access to government records that contain sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers.

The list includes:

- The U.S. Treasury Department's central payment system.
- Sensitive taxpayer data at the Internal Revenue Service.
- Social Security Administration key records.
- Access to personal information about federal workers at the Office of Personnel Management.
- U.S. Department of Education databases.

The DOGE team is building buzz, including efforts to dismember the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CBS's  of young techies with backpacks walking into the closed CFPB building. The men reportedly were DOGE workers who had wide access to all sorts of financial data on the agency's computers.

Of course, there's a lack of transparency and we don't know exactly what the DOGE team is doing and where.

When it comes to the DOGE push to gain access to sensitive government data, cybersecurity experts are more concerned about the serious threat of foreign intelligence services in China and elsewhere possibly having an easier time targeting a U.S. government network.

Schneier told the Free Press that the threat is extreme, and should be taken seriously, when it comes to democracy and national security.

In many cases, cybersecurity experts are concerned about the lack of information regarding who is getting access to this data and what protocols are being followed. Do they have the proper security clearances?

"It's not really clear what data is being touched by whom. Is data being transferred to new IT systems that maybe are not properly vetted or properly secured," said Florian Schaub, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.

"**I think there's a lot of uncertainty regarding who has access to potentially sensitive data, Social Security numbers, other payment information,**" Schaub said.

Overall, he is less fearful that DOGE or any government agency would purposefully leak or publish the data.

He's more concerned about the chances of someone being careless when accessing the data or processing the data, leading to the heightened risk of large scale data breaches in federal records.

"We don't know really who is doing any of these audits," Schaub said.

### What are the risks involving personal information?

Much uncertainty remains over who is getting access to what exactly. And what could happen if something goes wrong and your bank account information or tax records somehow get in the wrong hands?

For many consumers who have been hacked in the past, it's unsettling to think that somehow data that was once thought of as safe could get be more vulnerable at some point with all this data shuffling.



Bruce Schneier, a cybersecurity expert at Harvard and the author of “Click Here to Kill Us: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World,” reiterated that the danger from such a transfer of sensitive government data is serious but it doesn't have much to do with whether a bad actor would suddenly be able to open a credit card or loan using your name.

When it comes to the DOGE push to gain access to sensitive government data, cybersecurity experts are more concerned about the serious threat of foreign intelligence services in China and elsewhere possibly having an easier time targeting a U.S. government network.

Schneier told the Free Press that the threat is extreme, and should be taken seriously, when it comes to democracy and national security.

In many cases, cybersecurity experts are concerned about the lack of information regarding who is getting access to this data and what protocols are being followed. Do they have the proper security clearances?

"It's not really clear what data is being touched by whom. Is data being transferred to new IT systems that maybe are not properly vetted or properly secured," said Florian Schaub, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.

"**I think there's a lot of uncertainty regarding who has access to potentially sensitive data, Social Security numbers, other payment information,**" Schaub said.

Overall, he is less fearful that DOGE or any government agency would purposefully leak or publish the data.

He's more concerned about the chances of someone being careless when accessing the data or processing the data, leading to the heightened risk of large scale data breaches in federal records.

"We don't know really who is doing any of these audits," Schaub said.

### Where do you go to freeze your credit?

You must request a freeze by directly contacting each of the three major credit reporting bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — online, by phone, or through the mail. Online you'd go to the following sites:

- Equifax — 
- Experian — 
- TransUnion — 

Before you apply for new credit, remember, you will need to temporarily lift the security freeze following the specific procedures from the credit reporting company where you placed the freeze.

Many consumers also might want to carve out a bit more time to make sure that no one is opening new lines of credit. You can get a free credit report each week from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by going to .

It's always wise to check your credit report to fix any errors before you try to take out a car loan or open a credit card. You don't want to end up getting stuck with a higher interest rate on a car loan, for example, because an ID thief opened a credit card in your name and didn't pay the bill.

Reviewing your credit reports might enable you to spot identity theft early. Keep copies, as well.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: . Follow him on X: 

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