A newly launched website by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was widely promoted by Elon Musk, has published classified government data. This unexpected leak has caused alarm within the intelligence community.
The website, which officially went live on Wednesday, provides access to federal workforce statistics. It includes details on employee numbers and budget allocations for different government departments.
A disclaimer at the bottom of the site states that military and intelligence agencies are excluded from the workforce data. However, according to a HuffPost report, certain classified employment records can still be found on the platform.
Among the sensitive data made public is information about the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the agency responsible for building and launching U.S. surveillance satellites. Although the NRO’s budget and workforce figures are supposed to remain confidential, they are currently accessible on the website, HuffPost confirmed.
An anonymous official from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) revealed to HuffPost, “DOGE has just exposed NOFURN [not releasable to foreign nationals] intelligence community workforce data online. Right now, people are scrambling to check if their personal details have been compromised.”
At this time, the NRO appears to be the only one of the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies with personnel data available on the site.
Musk’s Involvement and Security Risks
Elon Musk has played a controversial role in former President Trump’s second administration, often creating unpredictability in government operations. Given that SpaceX holds a $1.8 billion contract with the NRO, Musk should be more aware of the agency’s security protocols and the importance of keeping classified information protected.
Two Senate aides working on intelligence matters confirmed to HuffPost that the NRO’s personnel records are classified. However, they noted ongoing debates within the intelligence sector about whether this level of secrecy is necessary.
Despite these discussions, one of the aides emphasized that DOGE’s public release of this information is “a clear violation of intelligence security standards.”
Concerns About DOGE’s Staff and Their Competence
The incident has intensified concerns among lawmakers regarding the qualifications of DOGE’s team.
“These programmers are mostly 25-year-olds. Many of them lack the experience to understand what they don’t know,” one aide remarked. “The bigger question is: Where did they get this information, and how are they handling it?”
When HuffPost reached out to the NRO for a statement, a spokesperson declined to comment directly. Instead, they redirected inquiries to DOGE, saying, “We defer to the Department of Government Efficiency for any remarks regarding the release of information on DOGE.gov.”
Neither the White House nor DOGE provided an immediate response to HuffPost or the Daily Beast when asked for clarification on the situation.
Previous Security Issues and Website Vulnerabilities
This is not the first controversy linked to DOGE’s website. Musk has described the platform as an effort to increase transparency while attempting to restructure the federal bureaucracy. However, the website has already faced multiple security breaches.
Earlier on Friday, hackers infiltrated the site and left prank messages. One of the messages read: “This is a joke of a .gov site.” Another stated: “THESE ‘EXPERTS’ LEFT THEIR DATABASE OPEN -roro.”
The website’s vulnerability and its unauthorized publication of classified information have raised significant concerns. Intelligence officials are now working to assess the full extent of the data exposure and its potential consequences.
