Elon Musk installs illegal server to seize all federal workers’ data
Elon Musk installs illegal server to seize all federal workers’ data
Elon Musk’s DOGE henchmen are helping him make his most terrifying power grab yet.
Summary
Elon Musk allegedly installed an unauthorized server at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), gaining access to sensitive federal employee data, including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and medical histories.
Young, inexperienced staffers are reportedly using this access to target positions for removal, particularly DEI offices.
Security concerns have been raised, with fears of hacking and HIPAA violations.
Senior officials have been locked out of key systems, limiting oversight of DOGE’s actions, which could significantly impact the federal workforce.
Remember that we're not allowed to call for violence, even when all civil options have failed. There's going to come a time when empty comments come to carry a meaning of their own.
It's a real shame that the headline isn't "Foreign hacker and his enabler in the White House arrested and imprisoned in solitary until they can be sent to Gitmo for life"
Where are all the 2A folks? I thought this is what they were alive for? To take down a tyrannical government
they just say that because it sounds better than "I hope one day a black guy tries to break into my house so I can kill one"
Turns out they were mostly hoping to shoot liberals that were trying to kick down their doors to take guns and force them into a gay marriage.
I consider myself a Libertarian, so I am 2A, even though I voted Democrat in the last election. I don't think people need full auto AKs, rocket launchers, etc but something reasonable to be able to protect themselves. My biggest issue is, if guns were banned, the criminals aren't going to give theirs up, they don't give a crap if it's illegal to own one. I am also not opposed to reasonable background checks, make sure someone isn't delusional before they can buy a gun. Responsible gun owners (myself included) don't want to have to use our weapons against another human. Someone who thinks killing innocent people is "okay" needs mental help. I want to add: I am deeply troubled with what is going on in our country, this is a dangerous road we have started down, and we need to be prepared for what may come. I think tRump is only 2A because that's what his supporters expect, I could totally see him banning guns for everyone but his "loyalists"
most sane Libertarian take right here
As an outsider, its crazy to see other countries band together to go out and protest in the tens of thousands. Where are all the people? Is this really how america is just going to roll over and die? I was expecting more
They just said that so all those murdered children wouldn't make their hobby slightly less convenient. You didn't actually believe them did you?
No, I just wanted to hear the mental gymnastics they use to justify it
They're deeply unserious about everything they scream about. They have no respect or serious connection with the US constitution. They only cling to the talking points like "the second amendment" because they know it gives them the right to be violent, and to the people who installed this man as shadow-president, they only care about having the right to hurt people they hate, and they hate a LOT of people.
Mark my words, if there's an executive leader that gives them the right to carry guns and hurt people, but discards the constitution, they will be first to piss on that document.
They lied it was all about having biggest peen
Fragile masculinity go brrr.
I don't know the English onomatopoeia for shattering glass. :(
Somewhere, Hillary Clinton is laughing.
I voted for her out of attempted harm reduction, and I agree, she probably is.
Wealthy neoliberals care as much about their fellow citizens as wealthy fascists, as they both have the same God they worship 💰
One appeals to pretending to care about people's well-being while taking bribes to hurt them, the other appeals to pretending to care about idiot bigot's blood lust while taking bribes to hurt them.
Yeah you're probably not far off. Similarly, I held my nose and voted for her as well. She was obviously the better choice, if only because her legacy was tied to a platform that at least on paper was significantly better than the alternative (e.g., climate change).
Alas I raise Hillary because of the double-standards of her buttery males versus this which is infinitely worse — yet, naturally, not a peep from conservative circles.
Because we know they're hypocrites and ends justify means to them.
Ok so this is really a hostile takeover right out of a black mirror episode. It's starting to dawn on me
While I appreciate that it dawned on you... Why did it take this long? They told us exactly what they were going to do.
I don't keep informed very close on US matters
It’s starting to dawn on me
I mean, yes, it really is. We're watching what may be the end of democracy. We're only a month in and we have unelected oligarchs making policy decisions and budget measures without voting or congressional oversight or even representation.
This is the definition of a coup, it's just that there's no tanks rolling down the street. Yet.
Our best-case scenario is that they just want to steal our money, and once they fill their bellies with your private data and identity data and of course, money, they will return to their dens to digest the feast. Our worst-case scenario is that the 2024 election will be remembered as America's last attempt at democracy.
Like [insert dystopian story here], but stupider. That seems to be the theme.
Don't worry, musk is aligned with Trump, so the anti tyranny gun people are too busy bending over to give a fuck
I'm all for fighting tyranny and oppressive governments wanting to take ma guns. However, I vote R and it's not my rights that are being trampled. It's my own team that is seeking the end of democracy. So, I will gladly bend over and take it without lube for my boy, Trumpy and Musky.
- The 2A Ammosexuals
Locate that server, and make it drink some water...
But her emails though, am I right guys?
My first thought when seeing the headline was “quick, somebody tell the conservatives that he’s using Hillary’s server to do it, then maybe something will happen!”
Hillary had the decency to destroy Libya. Did Elon not get the memo that America is the holy country of the chosen people?
Gaddafi was a fucking monster. No one misses him or his corpse freezer. So when the people started rising up, the UN said, sure, we can help out a bit. And so flew a handful of missiles. And zero troops.
No, the problem is that after giving minimal help to oust Gaddafi, no one stepped in to restore order. So the civil war continued.
As a note, the Arab Spring is part of why the Saudis helped Leon buy Twitter. To make sure it couldn't be used for that sort of uprising again.
Who is paying these new doge employees? Settling up a new department takes time, getting everything reviewed, approved then signed off. Until they are an offical government dept they wouldn't have authority to do anything.
This admin does not care about rules, laws, preexisting norms, etc. Congress has decided they don't care and have turned a blind eye.
At this point I just want there to be more transparency because some of what is being done needs to be done to some capacity, but we need to know what is being investigated, that they're respecting our privacy laws, and the final decisions about funding and the future of departments need to be decided in part by Congress or a grandjury of some sort.
I'm all for simplifying and cutting cold war budget bloat, but this is not the way to do it and I guarantee this will blow up in our faces as Elon is way out of touch with what services the average American needs.
It's hard to take their claims of balancing the budget seriously when at the same time there are even more proposals for tax cuts. You'd think if they are serious about cutting into the deficit they'd maintain taxes or increase them and reduce spending.
Save 2 trillion? Easier ways to do this by getting rid of loopholes.
it was an already existing department, it was just renamed.
Looking at what they're doing to other departments, do you think the pre-existing department continues in any meaningful way ?
It's been wild reading news stories coming out the US over the last couple of weeks.
Not the stories themselves of course, but the air of shock and alarm in both the stories and in the comment sections - and its not just Lemmy, its everywhere there's a comment section - when you knew what he was going to do, he told you what he was going to do - why are you now in any way surprised or disturbed?
The main question I have is that I've been hearing from Americans for decades now how gun ownership means you have a 2nd amendment based militia ready to go to protect the constitution and yet in the face of what is completely obviously the initial stages of a coup, I see no signs of that militia. Where are you?
It sounds like you are in a different country. Start getting involved in your politics to decouple from the USA and shield from its influence. It’s more urgent than it seems.
The outrage you see here from the US lemmings is the minority opinion. There is no internal force or opposition to what you see.
A third of the population think this is a good guy with
a gunauthoritarian power so this is great. A third of the population are complaining about how the Democrats aren't good enough to vote for in the midterms, and a third of the population are busy arguing with the other 2 thirds.Even the people who make shooting a tyrannical government their whole identity didn't bring their guns on Jan 6. It's always been hot air.
There were guns, they were just left in the stashes. The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and 3%ers all had weapon caches ready to go, they just didn't open them.
Also a few pipe bombs. Those were deployed but not detonated.
The main question I have is that I’ve been hearing from Americans for decades now how gun ownership means you have a 2nd amendment based militia ready to go to protect the constitution and yet in the face of what is completely obviously the initial stages of a coup, I see no signs of that militia. Where are you?
This was always posturing. It was a dumb fantasy invented by the right to mythologize the country's origins, skew the intent of the framers, and most importantly, give them plausible deniability in the gun control debate.
If gun owners truly believed in the myth of the "people's militia" being a necessary apparatus to prevent government oppression or tyranny, they would have picked up their rifles and stopped the insurrectionists attacking the capitol building on January 6th, 2021. A literal violent coup and they sat back and did nothing. No - worse than nothing, they agreed with the people trying to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power!
The idiot masses won't stand up to tyranny with force or strength of arms, ever. The propaganda machine will convince Americans to shoot their neighbors long before they ever even think to shoot at their ruling class.
I see no signs of that militia. Where are you? I don't even see signs of mass protest. Just idle chat online. Theres alarm, but its all complacent, Land of the free, to sit around and watch their country burn. Yet they still make fun of the french for WWII.
At least the french know how to fucking riot.
You put the equivalent of mobsters in the White House and suddenly these checks don't matter. As a country we fucked around and found out.
Seriously I tried warning people but they were certain that our existing laws would hold up. It's heartbreaking.
Because no one wants to be the first to start a revolution. No one wants to be a martyr to get the cause going. No one is desperate enough yet to put their life and freedom on the line.
I see no signs of that militia. Where are you?
Spread out over the entire country, and mixed together with another militia that's opposed to them that's also probably 2-1 larger. The left isn't as armed
I don't think shock and alarm really captures my thoughts.
I was deeply concerned by the prospect of a Trump presidency prior to November 5th. I've been despairing since then. Watching the current shit storm unfold I think I'm probably just discombobulated.
I see no signs of that militia. Where are you?
nice try, officer
There are a lot of reasons for this. Many of us did see it coming. However, we have all still been culturally brainwashed to think that our government has too many checks for things to get this far out of hand.
So it's like your average American doesn't believe this is even a possibility regardless as to what they have said.
I'm neither shocked nor alarmed. I've known America was dead since November 5th. Now it's just a question of when/if I'll get out and the knowledge that at least I won't ever have kids to feed the fascists.
when you knew what he was going to do, he told you what he was going to do - why are you now in any way surprised or disturbed?
My guess is that people's reaction is more like: "I thought politicians lie? Why would they do this?"
I know Musk is not technically a politician, but the same confused reaction and bewilderment that you mentioned is applied to Trump's current actions as well.
Knowledge of that which is forthcoming, doesn’t prevent it from being disturbing when it arrives.
Because gun are for poor people to kill themselves, and Kamala was in favour of Israel so we let Trump get elected
People are setting up some processes to respond to all of this. Not everything is worth reacting to as it’s a distraction.
Oh? Anyone in the government doing anything meaningful to even try to protect the country would be a shock to me
bUt WhAt AbOuT hEr EmAiLs
Lock him up.
Remind me, how many felony convictions did Hilary Clinton have? I want to say it was pretty close to zero.
Every accusation is a confession
Elon Musk needs to be charged, convicted, and hanged for treason against the republic.
Theres literally a 2amendment which makes it a legal obligation for the citizens to stop the government currently tho.
Do you have to be a citizen to commit treason? Did he actually obtain citizenship after committing his visa fraud? I’d like to see the long form certificate of his citizenship. Last time they complained someone was born in Africa it was a big deal…
He is a US citizen. He can be charged, convicted, and hanged for treason. And there isn't even any case law about whether a non-citizen can be charged with treason.
You don't have to be a US citizen to be prosecuted for any particular crime if you commit it on US soil.
Glad I am not the only one who had an altered view of the death penalty in light of recent events.
I would accept him being sent to Gitmo for life.
Only to be pardoned by the great leader of course.
He needs to be tried too.
This is one of those things were pardons and laws don't really matter. The way this thing is going, most of the citizens of DC will literally want to see Trump, Musk, and Vance's heads on pikes. If things get bad enough, the military and those guarding the president may simply look the other way and let the mob storm the gates. Most of the instances you see of revolutionary crowds storming a dictator's palace only occur because the military abandons them.
Trump and Musk are at a very real risk of ending up like Mussolini, hanging from a lamppost. That's how Fascist leaders like him often end up.
There really was no plan at all about preventing fascists from just marching in and doing whatever they want, huh? We were just supposed to count on people to do the right thing? Surprised this didn't happen sooner, honestly.
No one is supposed to follow illegal orders. But, who is to say what's illegal and isn't? And who are you going to call when they force you? The people executing Trumps orders? Is it worth not going home to your family over, or should you just let the courts decide? And who is to adjudicate your guilt? And can you even afford to fight it? Not if you're a non-corrupt civil servant.
No, there is no plan for the country choosing evil.
If they don't follow their illegal orders they will still arrested them or fire them for insubordination. If something is done in the end those people will not get their jobs back or have their records cleared or be compensated in any way.
Meanwhile the perps won't get shit done to them.
All the laws that were put in place after Nixon didn't really lay out a punishment. They assumed impeachment would still be the remedy used. Not sure what changed between the 70s and now that made senators afraid to challenge their president.
Kind of scary, really. This whole time all our adversaries had to do was social engineer their way in through the front door with a handwritten note from dear leader.
A republic. If you can keep it.
Narrator: "They couldn't."
Story of my life, too. I always expect people to do the right thing... but they never do.
I really hope this mobilizes the public sector into fighting him as hard as possible by all the appropriate means.
After this, is there any question that he didn't do something to hack vote counting machines? I'm feeling like this election wasn't legitimate.
He didn't have to. Read this.
Fantastic long read. ty.
But if you’re expecting a sexy story about Elon Musk messing with vote-counting software from outer space, sorry, you won’t get that here.
As in Bush v. Gore in 2000, and in too many other miscarriages of Democracy, this election was determined by good old “vote suppression,” the polite term we use for shafting people of color out of their ballot. We used to call it Jim Crow.
Yes, he didn't. They want to make everyone question the legitimacy of the elections, so they're pretending that they orchestrated something. In reality, there was nothing suspicious about the election. The only ratfucking was the normal, Gerrymandering kind. And a metric fuck ton of misinformation.
There was a rightward shift nearly everywhere. Although I do think there was some shenanigans going on in some places (I'm no expert, but this looks like a legitimate indication of tampering: https://electiontruthalliance.org/clark-county%2C-nv), Trump would've won regardless.
Backdoor to Russia no doubt
So....a fucking CRIME, right?
This is why I think it's heinous presidential pardons were ever allowed to be on the books. Must have reminded the founders of the kingly powers they sought to replace?
How did no one ever consider that you can do as many crimes as you want, so long as the president will pardon you?
Like????
Really dumb, if you ask me.
Yes. He has literally committed a capital offense. He could literally hang for this.
Spoiler: He won't.
Not anymore! With constitution 2.0 only bad moms who forget to pick up their kids from the baseball game on time will ever be prosecuted for capital offences and sentenced to capital punishment... Not rich guys!
Yes. So what?
Law doesn't matter. Breaking the law is common. And if anything, Trump's first term is all the proof we didn't even need that laws won't stop this.
Musk’s crew at DOGE—Trump’s weird fake agency—built a secret server to swipe every federal worker’s private deets. Skipped the law? Obviously. No privacy checks, no rules—just a free pass to dig through Social Security numbers, health records, and your cousin’s lame USAJOBS résumé.
The “talent” running this circus? Some college kid and a teen who probably still texts “XD” unironically. Peak competence. They’re blasting spam emails like it’s 2003, while China’s hackers lick their chops.
Congress is suddenly shocked? Please. They let this dumpster fire burn until the lawsuits rolled in. Musk calls it “streamlining.” I call it digital kleptocracy with a side of Space Karen vibes.
If this is “innovation,” humanity’s screwed. Imagine a Bond villain—but instead of lasers, he’s got Excel sheets and your mom’s dental records.
Stay frosty. The future’s here, and it’s run by rich twits playing Sims: Government Edition.
Mark my words, the lawsuits on this are going to be EPIC. He is not elected, he does not hold an official position that has ever existed, and he is meddling with extremely sensitive information, I promise you there is lawyers licking their chops and praising the universe for sending this idiot to put their kids thru college. He isn't vetted, he isn't approved by Congress, and he's dabbling in things that result in very serious prison sentences when handled improperly... Trumps judges simply won't be able to ignore the extreme ramifications when a slick high priced lawyer is spelling out how musks scent is all over documents leading to vast amounts of financial loss. Long story short, there's a reason people need a long list of credentials before accessing things like the OPM, and those entail the financial responsibilities that come with mishandling... Musky gonna learn this one the hard way.
He will be pardoned before it all starts.
I don't disagree, but who's gonna press charges? The second that happens, The "proud" boys, 3%ers et al mobilize and begin wiping out the prosecutors families.
Agreed. White nationalists are very keen to murder a judges children. Even when they don't have presidential backing. It helps that they have disproportionate representation within law enforcement and corrections.
Just look at the Delphi murders. The local cops got rid of the FBI, fabricated evidence, destroyed evidence and, coerced witnesses. The local prison where their framed suspect was being held tortured a confession out of the guy over the course of several months in solitary confinement. And the judge and prosecution conspired to prevent half the defence's evidence and witnesses being used and preventing them from suggesting alternative suspects. All this to protect Patrick westfall, a meth dealing white supremacist who brutally and ritualistically slaughtered his snitch's daughter.
Lmao. Cute you think lawsuits are going to get further beyond filing. Youre bouta find out law is only law if it is being enforced.
Tesla dealers now know how much you make, your health, etc...
Starlink knows your sexual history, financials, health, and physical location
To be fair, data brokers already know that stuff. The difference is now Tesla doesn’t have to buy the data.
OPM also houses all the clearance applications and associated investigation paperwork. Great..
Remember the OPM data breach in 2015? This is that, but for all OPM data, instead of some of it or most of it. For those unfamiliar with an SF86 (or eQIP); it’s your entire employment, educational, and residential history. All foreign nationals you maintain contact with, family history, financial history, travel history, anything that may be relevant in granting a security clearance.
This can include invesigators' findings and interviews.
I had to fill one out over a decade ago for a government job, and they even sent letters to the people I put as references to ask if there was any reason I shouldn't work for the government. Once I got the job that place was super locked down; if you try to (or accidentally) use your badge on a door you're not cleared for, expect a talking to.
I went to OPM right after this happened, everybody I met was fired.
They literally rolled a server in and plugged it in to send emails...
I have no idea why what you said is relevant
Because networks tend to be built like an egg. Hard shell on the outside, soft on the inside. Once you have something inside, it tends to be easier to break the rest.
Elon Musk didn't install anything. He just gave the order.
I know for a fact he doesn't understand anything about server technology.
As an unelected, unappointed worker he shouldn't have any power outside of DOGE (which kind of doesn't even exist).
They are auditing OPM. Step #1 of the IT portion of an audit is to copy the existing data so that it can be examined without any risk of altering the original data.
If you think that's what's happening, I would recommend putting the glue down and letting the fumes clear.
I guaranfucklckingtee that you posted "but her emails" shit in the past. Get outta here with your bullshit...
OK. Awesome. Lets just glaze over the whole illegal email server part. It's great that there is a process.
Are THEY following that process, though?
This whole scenario is just chock full of security holes you could drive a truck through. I expect lots more American data to end up the hands of adversaries and various independent bad actors: foreign state adversaries, not just the Republican internal adversaries.
LOL, "auditing". More like trying to break shit, and find the rare out-of-context bullshit to throw to the rubes (or just make up shit entirely, like the condoms nonsense).
This is starting to exceed even my pessimistic doomsday expectations. And we aren't even a month in yet.
"Dear China, spreads open butthole, please come in. Love, MAGA." - Trump email sent to Xi
What a horrible day to have a functioning imagination
I started on the Internet in the 90s. Once you get past Goatse, Tubgirl and 2 Girls, 1 Cup, your imagination for horrific things people say on the internet gets severely muted.
Time to deport this twat
Soooooo… that’s a direct threat to national security. And as I understand, trump is quoted as saying that his dog Elon doesn’t do anything without consent, so….
Impeachment and prison?
Elon will use social security numbers to hire more Indians in the branches of government.
I do have a question though, are employees of the United States Intelligence Community being affected by this?
Most definitely. The article mentioned USAJobs, which everyone goes through, including the CIA and the other alphabet agencies.
I don't know if the intelligence community does any sort of obfuscation for counterintelligence purposes (so that your job title isn't [Spy Grade 4 - Stationed in Greenland] outward facing to OPM) but they'll definitely have access to names and vitals for everyone in that system.
This is the HR division of the US government. EVERYBODY is affected by this.
What is being done to stop him?
Governmentally? Not a lot. All the people who would be responsible for doing anything work for the people doing it. All the people who are supposed to have oversight either agree with it, or we're just put into the minority by voters.
The only real options available are for someone to sue in a federal court and hope they get a judge who isn't a trump appointee.Outside the government? Legally, this is what the election decided the nation wanted, and there isn't much that can be done.
Anything outside the scope of legal action isn't going to be discussed online openly. You see small snippets of data being backed up to archive services, so you know that there are people doing things, but if you're doing something outside the scope of what the administration wants, you keep quiet.I'm sure the DOJ is on this and working on a case. /S
Nothing. The government isn't acting. I do not believe there is any useful legal avenue left. That just leaves civilians and other nations. Most civilians are completely powerless and other nations aren't going to get involved unless they are dragged into the mess. Image Nazi Germany except they never invaded Poland. The countries in which Fascism wasn't taking root were happy to look the other way and make concessions. Things are likely to get much worse before they get any better.
Germany took a part of Czech territory without anyone really doing anything about it because they pinky promised not to do it again
if you work for your state, county, city, town, or any place considered "public," then this is going to happen to you too
Wonder if they have a NAC and if those who manage it would kill all packets to and from that server. Surely the government has some infosec professionals who will uphold their oaths and do their jobs.
They are civil servants, they have to choose between knocking him off the network or feeding their kids next week.
There's also a chance they are siding with him.
I don't want to sound too doomery but their lives may honestly be on the line.
suuuurely... 😭
Seize what?
Can the workers just seize means of production already? 🙄
Realistically, what would that look like?
1-Form a union, including the accountants?
2-Move all money in to new bank accounts?
3-Fire the boss and make all decisions through an elected council of workers?
It'd look like a civil war first. One socialists sure as fuck aren't winning.
Muskymales
Sounds like a lie
Very disgusting of Elon.
If Biden can pardon his son, who had crack fueled sex in Ukraine, with MINORS, then Trump can pardon Musk.
Even so, who's going to arrest Musk? Congress?
Whether or not he had "crack fueled sex in Ukraine, with MINORS," that was not what he was convicted for and not what he was pardoned for.
Don't argue with Nazis