In a written opinion Monday, Judge Denise Cote found OPM “violated the law and bypassed its established cybersecurity practices” when officials first granted individuals from DOGE broad access to its IT systems.
“The plaintiffs have shown that the defendants disclosed OPM records to individuals who had no legal right of access to those records,” Cote wrote. “In doing so, the defendants violated the Privacy Act and departed from cybersecurity standards that they are obligated to follow. This was a breach of law and of trust. Tens of millions of Americans depend on the Government to safeguard records that reveal their most private and sensitive affairs.”
The plaintiffs in the case, including the American Federation of Government Employees, have sued OPM to block DOGE from accessing systems any further. They argue OPM violated federal law by granting “unvetted and untrained” DOGE agents broad access to multiple systems that house personal data on millions of individuals, including current and former federal employees.
Meanwhile, in a separate filing in the OPM case on Friday, DoJ pointed to the Supreme Court’s recent stay of a lower court preliminary injunction order that had restricted DOGE’s access to Social Security Administration systems.
Add new comment