New IRS Leader’s Dual Agency Roles Raise Data Security Alarms

Frank Bisignano is in a position to make it easier for data-sharing to occur between agencies—especially between the IRS and the Social Security Administration—now that he’s at the helm of both.

The Monday appointment of Bisignano, known for his Wall Street acumen and as an ally to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, as the new IRS CEO is raising concerns about how the agencies will handle taxpayer data between the two of them and other agencies as the Trump administration pushes hard on its priorities.

Data handling at the IRS and at the Social Security Administration since President Donald Trump took office has already been a source of controversy, too.

A whistleblower and former chief data officer at SSA said in August the agency circumvented oversight by uploading its database with the personal information of millions of Americans to a vulnerable cloud system. Several top agency leaders—including the acting commissioner—resigned as a result of mounting asks to hand over data to DOGE.

“When you have whistleblowers saying that Americans’ Social Security data is being held insecurely, that’s incredibly worrying, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that we do not need at the IRS,” said Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings.

While DOGE’s pursuit of access to Social Security data started in February before Bisignano’s confirmation to lead that agency in May, he’s embraced the group’s philosophy.

“He’s proven himself to be pretty amenable to bending the rules and doing some risky things,” said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. She previously worked at the Social Security Administration.

The IRS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Agencies’ Data Moves

The clashes at Social Security mirror early conflicts at the IRS. A DOGE adviser in February tried to get unlimited access to IRS data, though that was later walked back. Like the Social Security Administration, the IRS is also helping with the Trump administration’s efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.

“As SSA Commissioner, surely Frank Bisignano should be aware of how important safeguarding sensitive information is,” Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, said in a statement. “His commitment to ensuring his new position falls under Section 6103 would set the tone throughout the IRS bureaucracy,” Sepp added, referencing the part of the federal tax code focused on taxpayer confidentiality.

The IRS and DHS entered into a controversial data-sharing agreement in April, agreeing to give immigrants’ tax data to US authorities conducting criminal investigations. It led to the demotion and exits of multiple top leaders at the agency.

In August, the IRS began sharing data with the Department of Homeland Security to aid with the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, though at the time the IRS could only verify a small percentage of the data DHS wanted.

The Social Security Administration in April essentially started canceling the Social Security numbers of thousands immigrants and others. The agency began adding their names to what it called a “death master file,” seeking to take away their ability to use credit cards and bank accounts.

The relationship and data sharing between the IRS and SSA also could change, since Bisignano may be able to approve agreements at both agencies himself. Currently, the IRS can share information about Social Security and Medicare tax liability with SSA only in certain cases.

“I’m confident IRS lawyers will make sure the new CEO understands those rules, but it’ll just be important that there is no inappropriate merger of IRS and Social Security data without going through the right processes of making sure there’s legal allowance for it,” said former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.