# Whistleblower Reports NLRB Access Risks

An NLRB IT employee alleged that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personnel received highly privileged system access in March 2025, after which security controls changed and unusual data transfers occurred. The employee also reported a login attempt from a Russian IP address using valid NLRB credentials. These are allegations, not confirmed findings; the employee submitted evidence to Congress and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and sought an independent investigation. For procurement teams, the account underscores the security implications of granting external or temporary personnel privileged access to agency systems.

- Agencies and contractors should define and enforce least-privilege access, independent logging, monitoring, and incident-response responsibilities when personnel receive elevated system access.
- Procurement teams can translate these risks into concrete contract provisions covering account creation and removal, access reviews, audit logs, and reporting of suspicious activity.
- Contractors providing IT or cybersecurity services may find demand for independent access oversight and incident-response capabilities; the reported allegations do not establish that a breach occurred.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Cybersecurity
**Published:** October 11, 2026

### Government Entities
- National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
- Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
- U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC)
- Congress

### Key Quotes
> On March 11, Berulis and his team noticed a login attempt from an IP in Primorskiy Krai, Russia. He said the Russian IP address was using a correct NLRB username and password and was coming from a newly created account used for other DOGE-related activity.
> — Original post, reporting Daniel J. Berulis's disclosure

> The threatening note made clear reference to this very disclosure he was preparing for you, as the proper oversight authority. While we do not know specifically who did this, we can only speculate that it involved someone with the ability to access NLRB systems.
> — Andrew P. Bakaj (Whistleblower Aid attorney)

> I can't attest to what their end goal was or what they're doing with the data, but I can tell you that the bits of the puzzle that I can quantify are scary...This is a very bad picture we're looking at.
> — Daniel J. Berulis (NLRB IT employee)

### Sources
- [‘Musk' Suggests DOGE’s Real Purpose Was Something Else Entirely](https://www.reddit.com/r/FedEmployees/comments/1x3eaak/musk_suggests_doges_real_purpose_was_something) - reddit-fedemployees