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DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

theatlantic.com

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Re: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

#441
Does anyone else see the eery comparison between the name DOGE (department of government efficiency) and the things Orwell warned about in 1984? It seems very prescient, but I know this isn't the first time in history that regimes have played this game.

Re: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

#443
post #320

Related to a comment on a now-flagged subthread: can anyone who believes that DOGE is uncovering fraud please post a reliable reference that gives a specific example of fraud uncovered by DOGE? To be clear, this should be a third-party analysis of some credibility, not DOGE's or Musk's twitter feed or "receipts" website which shows cancelled contracts with no clear link to fraudulent activity.

If they were actually trying to eliminate waste, they’d be working in tandem with these departments instead of just trashing them.

More broadly: People who care about improving things move carefully and deliberately and involve all stakeholders. They are open and transparent and they listen. Trump and Musk are exhibiting horrible leadership skills because they do not care about improving things. Trump wants to hurt his perceived enemies and feel like he’s a big smart boss man. Musk wants to be the first trillionaire. That’s the start and end of it.

Re: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

#446

The moment they had physical access to the system, it was necessary to assume this. It's called an 'evil maid' attack, and of all communities this one should have been blowing the whistle. Loudly, repeatedly, and in open defiance of people who argue that this is a storm in a teacup, a non issue, just another MOT, etc. Especially when you look at the background of the Doge team - 'ex' hackers, 'security specialists',…

Please, someone, give me somewhere else to go other than here.

Re: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

#447
post #384

Well, it is a government agency tasked with audits. Why shouldn't it have root access?

Usually, you do not hand out “root access” to auditors. Auditors are there to gather information (e.g to audit) and report.

In general, you don’t give out broadly permissive access to sensitive systems because people (yes even incredibly competent people) are prone to getting confused or mistyping and you really don’t want anyone deleting the entire database at the drop of a hat because they didn’t have enough coffee that morning and were logged into the wrong system.

Re: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

#448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You personally are cool with me personally knowing your salary and where you live? Please just post that here right now.

That might sound incredibly foreign to you, but this is the norm in many Nordic countries, see Norway, Sweden and Finland, for a start. Tax returns for everyone are public, and so are addresses through a national registry.

Not just that, so are the tax returns of private businesses. You can look up any company and see exactly how it's doing.

In Finland they publish everyones salaries over a certain threshold in the newspaper every year.

Re: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data

#450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[dupe]

Yes, so long as there's checks and balances and accountability. The president is not king, just chief executive.

He literally declared himself king multiple times yesterday. He literally campaigned a promise that we wouldn't need future elections. He literally states he is the one true interpreter of the law with respect to the federal bureaucracy.
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