Here’s Which DOGE Goon Allegedly Took Social Security Data
The man accused of stealing sensitive social security data didn’t just potentially commit a massive security breach that could affect millions of Americans—he also has a serious conflict of interest.
Earlier this week, it became clear that the Social Security Administration’s inspector general was looking into a whistleblower complaint about a former software engineer that worked under Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency. The complaint claimed the unidentified man had access to two sensitive SSA databases he maintained on a thumb drive, and had intentions to hand that data over to a private employer.
That ex-DOGE staffer has since been identified by others in Washington, and his name is John Solly, multiple sources told WIRED.
Since October, Solly has been the chief technology officer at Leidos, a career pivot that could pose a major problem for the executive branch, according to the résumé on his personal website (Solly has since taken the site offline.)
Leidos’s website boasts enormous contracts with the Social Security Administration, including a five-year deal totaling up to $1.5 billion.
Solly—through his legal counsel—denied any wrongdoing, reported WIRED. “A spokesperson for Leidos also said the company found no evidence supporting the whistleblower’s claims against Solly,” the magazine noted.
All in all, 70 million Americans rely on the Social Security Administration and its services, but hundreds of millions could be affected by the purported theft.
According to his résumé, Solly supported other DOGE engineers on projects including “Digital SSN,” “SSN verification API (EDEN 2.0),” and “Death Master File cleanup,” the last of which refers to an SSA database that contains millions of Social Security records for deceased Americans. The purpose of maintaining the database is to limit the potential for fraud, blocking would-be thieves from stealing the identities of those who have died.
The API (application programming interface), meanwhile, could be used to allow different software programs to communicate with one another, sharing data between them.
“In this case, it could allow Social Security data to be accessed by agencies and institutions outside of SSA,” reported WIRED.
Solly also may have had access to SSA’s Numerical Identification System, also known as NUMIDENT, according to an earlier report from The Washington Post that identified the whistleblower complaint but did not name Solly as the accused offender. NUMIDENT hosts even more sensitive data: cataloguing all the information included in a Social Security number application, such as full names, birth dates, race, and other personally identifiable information.