A whistleblower within the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has raised alarming concerns regarding the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to sensitive data within the NLRB’s internal systems. The whistleblower claims that DOGE, led by Elon Musk, harvested confidential information from American citizens, potentially exposing this data to foreign adversaries.
Daniel J. Berulis, represented by Compass Rose Legal Group PLLC and Whistleblower Aid, disclosed the information to U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In his letter, Berulis expressed concerns that DOGE personnel were granted unrestricted access to NLRB data, allowing them to read, copy, and alter sensitive records.
“We were instructed to provide full access, cooperate fully with DOGE personnel, and refrain from resisting their activities,” Berulis explained in his declaration. “This unrestricted access raised significant concerns about the integrity and security of the data within the NLRB’s systems.”
After DOGE personnel arrived at the NLRB offices on March 3, Berulis reported a suspicious increase in outgoing data and noticed that at least 10 gigabytes of sensitive information, potentially related to union activities, ongoing labor cases, and corporate secrets, had been removed. He also discovered unauthorized login attempts, including one from an IP address in Russia.
“These login attempts occurred shortly after DOGE created accounts within the NLRB’s system, indicating that the access may have been compromised,” Berulis stated. “There were over 20 login attempts blocked due to our no-out-of-country login policy, yet the fact that these occurred within minutes of account creation is deeply concerning.”
On March 17, NLRB’s network team struggled to determine the full extent of the breach, as critical tools were misconfigured or missing. In response to growing concerns, Berulis and the NLRB’s assistant chief information officer agreed to report the breach to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), but were later informed in April that the investigation was to be dropped and no official report would be created.
“Based on my training and expertise, it appears that this breach was likely facilitated by an internal actor, and the unauthorized access could have been part of a larger data breach,” Berulis said.
Berulis has called on Senators Cotton and Warner to initiate a formal investigation into the matter, warning that the breach poses significant national security risks. Additionally, Andrew Bakaj, Chief Legal Counsel for Whistleblower Aid, emphasized the urgency of the situation, particularly the real-time access that Russian actors appeared to have gained to NLRB systems.
“The fact that foreign actors attempted to access the NLRB’s data so soon after DOGE created new accounts is a severe security concern,” Bakaj said. “This breach could have devastating consequences for the integrity of our national infrastructure and the safety of our sensitive data.”
The whistleblower has also reported facing physical intimidation tactics aimed at preventing him from speaking out, further raising concerns about the transparency of the investigation.
The NLRB has yet to provide an official response to the allegations. However, Tim Bearese, the acting press secretary for the NLRB, told NPR that the agency had conducted an internal review but found no evidence of a data breach.
As the situation unfolds, Berulis continues to advocate for a thorough investigation, stressing the importance of protecting the nation’s data from foreign threats and internal breaches.
