DOGE Gearing Up for 'Hackathon' at IRS

Monday, April 07, 2025

Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has plans to stage a "hackathon" next week in Washington, DC. The goal is to create a single "mega API" -- a bridge that lets software systems talk to one another -- for accessing IRS data, sources tell WIRED.

Posted by LampLighter at 07:32 PM | 12 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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DOGE plans now reportedly include an IRS 'hackathon'

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-- The Verge (@theverge.com) April 6, 2025 at 6:50 PM

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More from the article...

... The agency is expected to partner with a third-party vendor to manage certain aspects of the data project. Palantir, a software company cofounded by billionaire and Musk associate Peter Thiel, has been brought up consistently by DOGE representatives as a possible candidate, sources tell WIRED.

Two top DOGE operatives at the IRS, Sam Corcos and Gavin Kliger, are helping to orchestrate the hackathon, sources tell WIRED. ...

Since joining Musk's DOGE, Corcos has told IRS workers that he wants to pause all engineering work and cancel current attempts to modernize the agency's systems, according to sources with direct knowledge who spoke with WIRED. He has also spoken about some aspects of these cuts publicly: "We've so far stopped work and cut about $1.5 billion from the modernization budget. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-04-07 12:48 PM | Reply

Is this API [another?] backdoor to private citizen data that Mr Musk is planting in government systems?

If so, who might have access to the backdoor(s) going forward?

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-04-07 12:50 PM | Reply

I'm sure that the folks at Palantir will be working for free, pro bono, at no charge because it's the right thing to do for America. Uh Huh. Not. The billable hours have already started.

Memo to business clown Leon: you can't cut costs by firing employees and replacing them with contractors...

#3 | Posted by catdog at 2025-04-08 01:21 PM | Reply

Trump's fired the senior level engineers who know COBAL, the 1960's programming language used by SS. There are thousands of patches.

Without them, this will be a clusterf&^!

#4 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2025-04-08 01:28 PM | Reply

It's sad that so many breaches are proving that having one company become so big it can destroy security. Crowdstrike, Change Healthcare, CDK Global, etc. all prove that one company having control of a significant amount of anything is bad for security. Having one API is a terrible idea. But, one thing all Americans are good at no matter which party they belong to is sacrificing security for convenience.

#5 | Posted by humtake at 2025-04-08 03:38 PM | Reply

"Crowdstrike, Change Healthcare, CDK Global, etc. all prove that one company having control of a significant amount of anything is bad for security."

What does DOGE have control over?

Why can't you recognize the security threat there?

#6 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-04-08 03:56 PM | Reply

You know who Bruce Schneier is, right Humtake?

DOGE Is Hacking America
The U.S. government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history.
By Bruce Schneier,
foreignpolicy.com

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-04-08 04:23 PM | Reply

irs director resigned.

the roaches always run when the light comes on...

guess she got paid all she needed from ???

#8 | Posted by shrimptacodan at 2025-04-08 09:10 PM | Reply