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A federal judge on Thursday issued an order blocking Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency<\/a> from accessing systems at the Social Security Administration (SSA) that store the personal information of millions of Americans.<\/p>\n In the Thursday ruling<\/a>, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland accused DOGE of being \u201cessentially engaged in a fishing expedition\u201d in search of fraud based on \u201clittle more than suspicion.\u201d Hollander said DOGE \u201cnever identified or articulated\u201d a reason why it needs access to the \u201cpersonal and private data of millions of Americans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The access, per Hollander, violates several federal privacy laws, and the order warned of cybersecurity risks. <\/p>\n Per the filing, DOGE has 10 staffers at SSA, and seven of those had access to personally identifiable information in SSA\u2019s data systems. TechCrunch has identified several, including Akash Bobba<\/a> and Scott Coulter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hollander said SSA initially granted DOGE access to the systems, which included Social Security numbers, medical records, drivers\u2019 license numbers, tax information, and reams of other personal information.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n