Anna Hartz
Federal Worker Sounds Alarm Over Possible Russian Access to U.S. Files
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Concerns about cybersecurity have grown in recent years, especially as private tech companies play a bigger role in government systems.
Now, a whistleblower says that sensitive U.S. government data may have been accessed by Russian actors through technology connected to Elon Musk, according to CNN.
The whistleblower, Daniel Bertulis, works at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
He made the claims with the help of his lawyer, Andrew Bakaj. They both appeared on a CNN show hosted by Jake Tapper to discuss the situation.
According to them, a platform managed by the Department of Public Efficiency (DOGE) may have been at the center of a major breach.
The lawyer said around ten gigabytes of government data were accessed.
To help people understand the size of the breach, he compared it to a full stack of physical encyclopedias.
Login Attempts from Russia
Bertulis said he began noticing problems after DOGE employees created new user accounts.
Within 15 minutes of the accounts being set up, he saw login attempts coming from Russia.
These attempts used the exact same credentials. His lawyer claimed there were over 20 such attempts.
Things became even more concerning when connections to Starlink were mentioned.
Starlink is a satellite internet system owned by Elon Musk. The whistleblower’s team said Starlink might have been used to move or collect data.
This could mean there was a path for foreign access to sensitive information.
The lawyer warned that the issue may go far beyond just one agency. He said the Department of Energy and other federal departments may also be involved.
Bakaj described the situation as extremely dangerous.
It’s like the control boards at Chernobyl all flashing at once. Dan stepped forward with serious concerns. He should be praised for that.
He added that the public may only be seeing a small part of a much bigger problem.