Three Maine residents filed data breach notifications with the state attorney general, saying their personal data was breached when Elon Musk’s "Department of Government Efficiency" gained control of the Treasury Department’s payment system.
In his notification filed Feb. 5, Kevin Couture described the breach as an internal system breach caused by Elon Musk, “c/o The White House.”
“My privacy rights were violated as my Social Security number and banking information were compromised by accessing government systems and downloading the information without my consent and knowledge,” said Couture, a 58-year-old social worker, in an interview.
“This is wrong and illegal. I have no idea who has my information now.”
Couture had a “general overall concern” about having someone he didn’t vote for access his data.
“Was my retirement savings breached?” he asked aloud. “Who knows, ask Elon.”
Couture was especially worried about what Musk’s “young, lost-boy techs” would do with the data they retrieved.
“It’s concerning that someone can access that amount of data,” he said. “Me and other friends want something done as soon as possible. This whole episode is completely outrageous.”
Two other Maine residents also filed similar data breach notifications on Feb. 6.
Martha Balwin said the breach affected all Maine residents, while Renee Roy-DePeter said it affected Maine residents as well as anyone in the U.S. with a Social Security number.
“Elon Musk and four unauthorized third-party individuals have gained access to Americans' protected financial information, violating the privacy act of 1974. I did not provide written consent for these parties to access my information,” Baldwin said in an email.
The data breach notifications come amid a growing uproar over Musk's team having access to Americans’ personal and financial information.
The Alliance for Retired Americans, along with two employee unions, for example, sued the Treasury Department for giving Musk and members of his team access to the agency’s payments systems.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Economic Policy Institute, and four of the AFL-CIO’s affiliated unions also filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor over granting Musk and his team access to the department’s information systems.
Attorneys general coalition
In addition, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in criticizing the Treasury Department for granting Musk and his staffers access to sensitive payment systems.
“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law,” the attorneys general wrote in a statement on Feb. 6.
“The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.”
The attorneys general called the level of access given unauthorized individuals “unlawful, unprecedented and unacceptable” and said they would be filing a lawsuit to stop the injustice.
The other attorney generals joining Frey are from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
