US Secretary of Energy allows DOGE representatives to access its IT systems despite objections from general counsel

Odaily News On Wednesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright granted a representative from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the Energy Department’s IT systems, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Wright granted access to DOGE representative Luke Farritor, a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern, despite objections from the Energy Department’s general counsel and members of the Chief Information Office, the department’s IT and cybersecurity office, according to people familiar with the matter.
The general counsel and members of the chief information office “said this was a bad idea” because Farritor had not undergone the standard background check required to access the department’s systems, one of the people said. “He was not cleared to be in the Department of Energy, to be in our systems. None of those things were ever done.”
Farritor was given access to basic IT, including email and Microsoft 365. The CIO reportedly does only a small amount of IT and cybersecurity work for the National Nuclear Security Administration, including providing connectivity and running basic internet services for NNSA headquarters. It does not run IT systems for the nuclear agency labs that control the nation's nuclear stockpile. (CNN)