The Daily Scoop Podcast – Episode Summary

Date: August 27, 2025
Host: Billy Mitchell
Episode Theme: Urgent security lapses at the Social Security Administration and leadership shakeup at NIH

Episode Overview

This episode centers on two major stories impacting federal technology leadership:

1. A Whistleblower Alert from the Social Security Administration (SSA):
   SSA’s Chief Data Officer (CDO) Charles Borges alleges grave data security lapses. Members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly uploaded a comprehensive Social Security database containing Americans’ personal information to a vulnerable, unsupervised cloud environment.

2. NIH IT Leadership Turnover:
   Adele Merritt, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), departs after just eight months, adding to ongoing instability in federal tech roles amid sweeping workforce reductions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Social Security Data Breach Allegations

• Whistleblower Complaint Details (00:30):

  • SSA CDO Charles Borges, via the Government Accountability Project, filed a complaint to Congress concerning DOGE's actions.
  • Employees “stored a copy of a massive Social Security Administration database in a vulnerable custom cloud environment, putting more than 300 million people’s personal information at risk.”
    (00:22; Host)
  • The data, from the Numerical Identification (Numident) System, contains: names, phone numbers, addresses, birth dates and places, parents’ names and SSNs, and more.

• Security Oversight Failures (01:20):

  • “Officials, under the direction of SSA Chief Information Officer Aram Mogadasi, granted themselves permission to copy Americans’ Social Security information onto a cloud server with no verified oversight, violating agency protocols.”
    (01:12; Host)
  • The purported cloud server:

    “Lacks any security oversight from SSA or tracking to determine who is accessing or has accessed the copy of that data.”
    (01:46; Host reads complaint)

• Potential Consequences (02:10):

  • If accessed by malicious actors, risks include:

    • Nationwide identity theft
    • Disruption to essential benefits (healthcare, food)
    • Costly reissuing of Social Security numbers nationwide

    “Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost.”
    (02:17; Host paraphrasing complaint)

• Context and CDO Background (02:35):

  • Charles Borges joined SSA as CDO in January 2025, bringing experience from GSA, CDC, and OMB.

• Broader Pattern of Incidents (02:50):

  • The episode connects this incident to “a string of incidents regarding DOGE’s access to SSA systems,” underscoring recurring security vulnerabilities.

2. NIH CIO Departure amid Workforce Reductions

• Adele Merritt’s Resignation (03:10):

  • After less than a year as CIO, Adele Merritt leaves NIH.

  • She previously served as CIO for the intelligence community and took the NIH post after it had been vacant for two years.

    “Adele Merritt is out as the top IT official at the National Institutes of Health after roughly eight months in the role, again changing up the leadership in the position.”
    (03:12; Host)

• Context: Federal Workforce Cuts (03:25):

  • Occurring alongside the Trump administration’s cost-cutting and workforce reorganization:

    • HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy previously announced plans to cut 10,000 more workers.
    • NIH has lost about 18% of its workforce since January 2025.

    “A recent ProPublica analysis of HHS’s public directory found that the health agency has lost roughly 18% of its workforce since January.”
    (03:36; Host)

• IT Leadership Instability (03:50):

  • Nearly the entire leadership team at FDA’s Office of Digital Transformation was affected.
  • Ongoing plans to consolidate IT leadership highlight sector-wide uncertainty.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the scale of the data risk:

  “A live copy of the entire country's Social Security information … apparently lacks any security oversight from SSA or tracking to determine who is accessing or has accessed the copy of that data.”
  (01:46; Host, quoting the whistleblower complaint)

• On stakes of the security lapse:

  “The government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost.”
  (02:30; Host paraphrasing complaint)

• On recurring issues at SSA:

  “The new details follow a string of incidents regarding DOGE’s access to SSA systems, which often hold personally identifiable information and present a higher security risk than other civilian agencies.”
  (02:55; Host)

• On the wave of leadership turnover:

  “Almost the entire leadership team at the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Digital Transformation, including its chief information officer, were impacted by the reduction in force.”
  (03:52; Host)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:30 — Details of the SSA whistleblower complaint
• 01:20 — Specifics about violations and lack of oversight
• 02:10 — Potential impact on American citizens
• 02:50 — Recurrence of DOGE-related security incidents
• 03:10 — NIH CIO Adele Merritt’s resignation
• 03:25 — Overview of HHS workforce reductions
• 03:50 — Broader IT leadership instability in government agencies

For more federal technology news, the host directs listeners to fedscoop.com.