#DOGE Gains Access to #Confidential Records on #Housing #Discrimination, #Medical Details — Even #DomesticViolence

While some #FederalAgencies have resisted efforts by #ElonMusk’s team to access confidential records, #HUD has opened the door. The potential #harm to #privacy could be significant.

#law #InfoSec #USpol #Trump #Musk
https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-elon-musk-hud-housing-discrimination-privacy-domestic-violence

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence

While some agencies have resisted efforts by Elon Musk’s team to access confidential records, HUD has opened the door. The potential harm to privacy could be significant.

ProPublica

#ElonMusk’s #DOGE has gained access to a #US Dept of Housing & Urban Development system containing #confidential #personal #information about hundreds of thousands of alleged victims of housing #discrimination, including victims of #DomesticViolence.

Access to the system, called the #HUD Enforcement Management System, or #HEMS, is typically strictly limited because it contains #medical records, #financial files, documents that may list #SocialSecurity numbers & other #private information.

#law

…Few records in the #HUD system are redacted or anonymized, & many contain deeply personal material about those who have alleged or been accused of housing #discrimination. #DomesticViolence case files can list addresses to which survivors have relocated for their #safety. #Harassment cases can include detailed descriptions of instances of #SexualAssault. #Disability cases can include detailed #medical records.

#law #InfoSec #USpol #Trump #Musk #DOGE #privacy #HEMS

Lending #discrimination files could feature #credit reports & #bank statements. The names of #witnesses who offered information — in some cases anonymously — about landlords accused of discrimination are among the files as well.

#HUD enforces numerous #CivilRights laws, including the #FairHousing Act & aspects of the #ViolenceAgainstWomen Act & the #AmericansWithDisabilities Act.

#law #InfoSec #USpol #Trump #Musk #DOGE #privacy #HEMS

Such statutes collectively prohibit #housing #discrimination on the basis of #race, #sex, #national origin, #disability & other characteristics.

HUD ofcls, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, voiced concern that #DOGE’s access to #HEMS could violate the #privacy rights of discrimination victims & potentially put them at risk if their #information is mishandled or leaked.

[“will be read by malign foreign actors” - HHS]

#law #InfoSec #USpol #Trump #Musk

#CivilLiberties advocates expressed alarm about #DOGE’s access to the #HUD data, saying it may violate the #Privacy Act. “It’s difficult to see why a system dedicated to #CivilRights complaints would have any impact whatsoever on a department looking for inefficiencies in governmental spending,” said Cody Venzke, snr policy counsel at the ACLU.

#law #InfoSec #USpol #Trump #Musk #HEMS #AbuseOfPower

@Nonilex

Investigating and acting on civil rights complaints is a needless waste of money. Didn't you know?