Cnn
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Like the Trump administration fire Thousands of employees through the government, federal workers have another reason for being in advance: generalized access that the “Government Elon Musk” team has acquired the agency computer systems .
The sudden appearance of Doge’s representatives in Washington agencies and the search for the Trump administration for federal employees whom he deems unfair towards the president created a wave of anxiety among the federal authorities that their email, texts or conversations could be monitored.
Some government employees are now putting on their phones at home. Others opt for cats in person at work rather than on Microsoft teams. Some even went so far as to buy special Faraday bags, designed to block electromagnetic signals, in order to thwart any potential spy. Some print their employee files, including performance reviews, just in case they are deleted or modified in federal systems.
Their concern is that with a president who speaks openly about reprisals against his opponents, even the most commonplace comments could be out of his context to paint someone as anti-top.
“I used to transport my phone with me everywhere, after hours, the weekend, in case something is necessary. Now, I do not withdraw it from my office space, “said an employee of the General Services Administration (GSA), the public procurement agency.
CNN spoke to more than a dozen federal employees in more than five federal agencies that have transmitted a feeling of fear and paranoia, not just the increased potential to lose their jobs, but also to be monitored without their knowledge.
It is not known to what extent government practices to monitor employees have in fact changed under the second Trump administration. Many programs to use both software and persons to detect “threats of initiates” or unauthorized access to information, increased during the Obama administration after leaking the secrets of the government by the former EDWARD SNOWDEN Intelligence entrepreneur.
“DOGE realizes President Trump’s commitment to make government more responsible, effective and, above all, the restoration of the appropriate stewardship of the hard -won dollar of the American taxpayer,” said a white house in a statement sent by e-mail. The manager did not respond when CNN asked whether the administration had changed policies or practices to monitor the communication of federal employees.
“People who direct this mission with Elon Musk do so in full compliance with federal law, appropriate security authorizations and as an employee of the agencies concerned, and not as an external advisers or entities,” said the manager from the White House.
But rumors have been endemic among federal workers that their online conversations in programs like Microsoft teams are watched by older senior officials. And these rumors are already modifying behavior.
“Is truth important if everyone believes it?” said another federal worker. “Obviously, legally, but from a psychological point of view, if what they want is scared people, then they could already win.”
That the Musk’s government’s Ministry of Effectiveness reports to the White House chief of staff only increased concerns.
The GSA sought to dispel these rumors last week, publishing a statement that the agency “does not intend to monitor employees”.
For some federal workers, their suspicions of surveillance are difficult to shake. “There is a persistent feeling that we are monitored,” an employee of the Ministry of Ancient Affairs told CNN.
Consequently, the VA employee has stopped using his work computer to examine new sites during their lunch break and even be wary of using his personal phone in the office when he is connected to WiFi. They thought of covering the camera on their computer to avoid being watched, and they go on the other side of the desktop – far from their computer – and talk quietly if they have to say something that could be considered as criticism of the administration current.
When they were asked if they thought they were registered in the office, the VA employee said: “It’s very unlikely, but is it impossible? No… I mean, have you ever thought that a 19-year-old named Big Balls gave information to the State Department? »»
The technological scientist of Elon Musk and his team Doge also increased concerns to the Ministry of Education, said an employee. “Any technical problem we are experiencing, we wonder, are we paranoid or is it a harmful action?”
DOGE has six people at the Ministry of Education who are all federal employees, according to a legal file in a trial brought by the student association contesting DOGE access to the department. The six people have accessed the IT systems of the department linked to student loan programs as part of an audit for waste, fraud and abuses, indicates the judicial file.
Some State employees have been informed by their superiors that Doge could have a “deep scope” in department systems, a familiar source said with the situation at CNN. Several employees of the department received an opinion on their mobile phone during their work by saying to them: “Your organization has installed a certificate authority in your working profile. Your secure network traffic can be monitored or modified, ”according to a screenshot of the message shared with CNN.
CNN asked for comments from the State Department.
A federal employee in Nevada is now paying attention to the terms they use in the messages of Microsoft teams at work. “I try not to say words that could stand out if you run a language model to find words,” they said, referring to artificial intelligence.
At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, scientists no longer take meeting notes in Google Docs, an employee told CNN. Instead, their leaders urged them to use offline programs, such as Microsoft Word, then publish online a “clean version” without any term that could start more closely, such as “climate change”.
“People drop the phone for the first time in a decade because they don’t have to have meetings or online notes,” the employee told CNN. “We are this paranoid level.”
Katie Bo Lillis of CNN and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.