Washington, D.C. – Over fifty Democratic lawmakers are questioning senior U.S. government officials about a recent potential data breach involving sensitive information about American workers. The lawmakers, part of the Congressional Labor Caucus, are demanding answers from the acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, William Cowen.
The concerns arose after a whistleblower disclosure revealed that officials with the Department of Government Efficiency may have removed sensitive labor data, raising fears about potential compromises to the NLRB systems. The disclosure, made by Daniel Berulis, a cloud administrator in the NLRB’s IT department, highlighted the possibility of unauthorized access to sensitive information.
The whistleblower report described the presence of individuals from the Department of Government Efficiency who demanded high-level access to NLRB systems without proper monitoring. This raised concerns about the security of the data leaving the agency and the risks of exposure to criminal hackers or foreign adversaries.
The lawmakers also questioned the necessity of DOGE, led by Elon Musk, to access internal NLRB systems, particularly considering their focus on government efficiency and federal spending reduction. They pointed out potential conflicts of interest, given ongoing cases involving Musk’s companies before the NLRB.
The NLRB denied granting DOGE official access to its systems and stated that there was no official request for such access. However, a review of a potential breach was conducted internally following Berulis’ concerns. While the NLRB officials ruled out a breach, Berulis insisted that further investigation is warranted.
These revelations come amidst a series of court cases alleging mishandling of sensitive government data by DOGE staff across various agencies. The lawmakers call for immediate action to address the concerns raised by the whistleblower report and to ensure the security of sensitive information about American workers.