A staffer from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) violated Treasury policies by sending unencrypted personal data through email. This was according to federal court testimony from a senior cybersecurity official.
Marko Elez, assigned to the U.S. Treasury as part of DOGE, sent a spreadsheet containing sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) to two Trump administration officials. This breach occurred shortly before Elez resigned in early February, following the discovery of his racist social media posts.
The security lapse surfaced in a court filing on Friday, which included testimony from David Ambrose, the chief security and privacy officer at the Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Services. This division is responsible for distributing trillions of dollars in federal funds to American households annually. A coalition of U.S. attorneys general filed the lawsuit to block DOGE cost-cutters from accessing highly sensitive financial data stored by the Treasury unit where Elez worked.
After Elez resigned, Treasury officials immediately launched a forensic analysis of his government-issued laptop. Their investigation of his Treasury email account exposed the breach, showing that he had sent an email containing names, transaction types, and monetary amounts. Ambrose confirmed that Elez neither encrypted the data nor obtained the required approval before sending it.
Ambrose emphasized that Elez blatantly disregarded department policies by transmitting sensitive data without encryption or proper clearance. Bloomberg first reported the details of this court filing.
Despite the controversy, Elez rejoined federal service on February 18 and now works at the Social Security Administration. According to a source familiar with personnel matters.
In response to the court filing, the coalition of attorneys general reiterated their concerns. Stating that the new revelations only deepen fears about the “rushed and chaotic nature” of DOGE’s onboarding process at the Treasury.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, a federal court is also weighing a motion to prevent DOGE from accessing the Social Security Administration’s systems. Which contain sensitive information on millions of Americans.
