Behind the Ban Order That Made Elon Musk Angry

On 8/2, a federal judge blocked the Effective Government Committee of billionaire Elon Musk, also known as DOGE, from accessing the Ministry of Finance's records containing sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers of millions of Americans. Billionaire Musk called this decision "completely crazy". "How can we prevent tax fraud and waste of taxpayers' money without considering how the money is spent," he emphasized. This emergency order restricts access to the payment systems and other data of the Ministry of Finance for "all personnel appointed to political positions, special government employees, and government employees transferred from external agencies to the Ministry of Finance". This action raises a bigger question: Is the so-called DOGE founded by Mr. Musk creating serious vulnerabilities in cybersecurity and national security? Risk In the ruling issued on February 8, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the trial court ruled that Musk's government cost-cutting activities could 'expose sensitive and confidential information,' making the Treasury Department's system 'more vulnerable to attack.' In fact, this warning has been continuously echoed by cybersecurity experts for the past 10 days, when Musk's young programming team requested access to the deepest system of the Ministry of Finance. However, there is no explanation about how to ensure safety and security for their work. In this context, the New York Times assesses that there is reason to believe that this will make it easier for Chinese and Russian intelligence to target the Department of the Treasury's system. This is also the main argument made by 19 attorneys general to request a temporary restraining order preventing Musk's team from accessing the Treasury Department system. This temporary restraining order, effective until the hearing on February 14, also requires anyone who has accessed data from the Department of Finance's records since Donald Trump took office on January 20 to "immediately destroy all downloaded copies". The US government affirms that Mr. Musk's team is only allowed to view data in "read-only" mode in the Treasury Department's system. However, the government currently designates many personnel to positions that can do more than that, according to the New York Times. The threat to the Ministry of Finance is not just a hypothesis. In December 2024, this agency sent a letter to the US Congress notifying them that a group of Chinese intelligence had infiltrated their system and stolen classified documents. The full assessment of the damage has not yet been made public. But it is a reminder that the Ministry of Finance, along with the Pentagon, CIA, and the White House, are all on the target list. Any new access to the agency's system can create vulnerabilities for intruders to exploit. 'Most serious security breach' Before the restriction order was issued, concerns about the potential security risks caused by Musk's project had spread. The Washington Post reported that a subcontractor of Booz Allen Hamilton - the company responsible for operating the Department of the Treasury's threat detection center - issued a written warning. However, this warning was retracted after the content leaked. External experts have described in detail the potential consequences that can occur when unauthorized individuals suddenly gain access to the security system: Personal data may be leaked, payment transactions may be redirected, and information about political opponents may be collected. Bruce Schneier, cybersecurity expert at Harvard and author of several books on security vulnerabilities, including Click Here to Kill Everybody, called this incident the "most serious security breach" in US history. Schneier stressed that the intrusion "did not occur through sophisticated cyberattacks or acts of foreign espionage, but rather stemmed from the official orders of a billionaire with an unclear role in the government." Billionaire Elon Musk, of course, is very concerned about cybersecurity. Starlink, the satellite system operated by his company SpaceX, is considered to have high security. SpaceX's reusable rocket launches are also closely guarded. However, federal officials said they were shocked by the recklessness of Musk's staff when accessing government systems, including two systems storing millions of sensitive records: the Department of Treasury and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management OPM(. In an article in Foreign Affairs, according to James Goldgeier and Elizabeth N. Saunders, the Treasury plays a critical role in foreign policy. The two authors, who are members of the Brookings Institution, note that this agency plays a central role in sanctions policy. If Musk's team has the right to access and rewrite the source code directing US government payments, the cybersecurity and privacy risks would be significant," they wrote. "Hostile intelligence agencies may have already begun efforts to assess which member of Musk's team could be careless with digital devices or susceptible to coercion. Musk's team insists it is using a "thoroughly transparent" approach to reviewing government spending patterns. However, little is known about how this group approaches the data or whether they have made any changes that increase the risk of a security vulnerability. The Trump administration has not disclosed the identities of most of the young personnel recruited by Musk, nor has it specifically explained their powers. In a letter to Senator Ron Wyden, a Democratic member, expressing concerns about the work of the cost-cutting group, Department of Finance official Jonathan Blum said there is no reason to worry. "The Treasury Department has no higher duty than managing government finances on behalf of the American people," Blum wrote. "The payment system is very important in that process. Therefore, to fulfill this mission, the Ministry of Finance is committed to protecting the integrity and security of the system." He also asserted that the system's safeguards are "robust and effective" and are under constant review.