Whistleblower Andrew Bakaj on NLRB Data Exfiltration and DOGE's Activities

Allegations of Irregularities at the NLRB

• 💡 A cybersecurity professional at the NLRB, Daniel Berulis, filed a formal whistleblower disclosure alleging significant irregularities involving the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and access to sensitive NLRB data.
• 🎯 DOGE, an agency focused on government efficiency, arrived at the NLRB purportedly to identify inefficiencies and streamline services.
• ⚠️ Berulis' declaration, made under penalty of perjury, details concerns about DOGE's methods, including the creation of user accounts and the use of an external "container" to process activities opaquely.

Data Exfiltration and Security Concerns

• 🚀 Concerns were raised when, over 20 times, entities from Russia attempted to log in with correct credentials within minutes of each other, indicating a potential security breach.
• 📊 Significant amounts of data, potentially 10 gigabytes of text, were observed leaving the agency, raising questions about the nature and destination of this exfiltrated information.
• 🔍 Berulis, a trained cybersecurity expert, identified these anomalies and reported them up his chain of command.

Whistleblower Protections and Motivations

• 🔑 Andrew Bakaj, Chief Legal Counsel at Whistleblower Aid, explains that federal employees have an obligation to disclose wrongdoing.
• 🛡️ Laws like Title 5, Section 2302 protect federal employees from retaliation for whistleblowing, prohibiting adverse personnel actions such as firing or demotion.
• 💬 Berulis chose to identify himself publicly to encourage others, though anonymity is also a protected option for whistleblowers.

Congressional Inquiry and Future Actions

• 📈 Members of Congress have initiated inquiries, sending letters to the NLRB expressing concerns based on Berulis' declaration.
• 🔍 Berulis hopes for a thorough investigation to determine what happened, mitigate any ongoing risks, and ensure government systems operate securely moving forward.
• ⚖️ The ultimate goal is accountability for any criminal misconduct and rebuilding government structures to prevent future data breaches and ensure the protection of sensitive citizen data.

Threshold for Whistleblowing

• ⚠️ Whistleblowing is distinct from disagreeing with administration policies; it involves a reasonable belief of potential violations of law, rules, or regulations, such as fraud, waste, or abuse.
• 📝 Prospective whistleblowers are advised to articulate facts clearly, provide evidence (like screenshots), and report to proper authorities rather than conducting their own full investigations.
• 🤝 The focus is on ensuring government systems are secure and that individuals engaging in misconduct are held accountable, safeguarding national security and citizen data.