Government Data Breach Fines Skyrocket: Hacking Penalty Jumps to $750,000, Data Leaks Cost Up to $30,000

The "Defending Our Government’s Electronic Data: Bolstering Responsible Oversight and Safeguards Act"—or the DOGE BROS Act—is essentially a massive financial deterrent aimed at anyone who misuses, leaks, or hacks into sensitive government data systems. It doesn't create new rules about what data is protected, but it makes the consequences of breaking the existing rules dramatically more expensive. If you’re a regular person whose personal information is held by the IRS, Social Security, or the Census Bureau, this bill is designed to make the people handling that data take their jobs six times more seriously.

The Cost of Misusing Your Personal Records

For those working within federal agencies, the stakes just got much higher for handling personal records improperly. Currently, the Privacy Act of 1974 sets a maximum fine of $5,000 for certain violations related to how agencies maintain records about individuals. This bill raises that maximum penalty across the board to $30,000 (Sec. 2). This means that if a federal employee or contractor is found to have illegally disclosed your protected records, or if they tried to obtain them under false pretenses, the potential fine they face is now six times steeper. This is a direct measure to increase accountability for the millions of sensitive files the government holds on citizens.

Hacking the Feds: A $750,000 Ticket

Perhaps the most dramatic increase targets individuals who hack government computers to steal information. If someone is convicted of accessing a U.S. department or agency computer without authorization to obtain data (specifically under 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(2)(B)), the maximum fine jumps to a staggering $750,000 (Sec. 3). While the average person isn't hacking the Pentagon, this provision is crucial because the fines are intended to deter major data breaches that could expose the private information of millions of Americans, from military personnel to those applying for benefits. It’s a clear signal that the financial penalty for a severe intrusion will now match the scale of the damage.

Protecting Your Tax and Social Security Data

Beyond general privacy violations, the bill targets specific, highly sensitive data sets. If someone wrongfully discloses confidential taxpayer information (Section 7213 of the Internal Revenue Code), the maximum fine is increased from $5,000 to $25,000 (Sec. 5). Similarly, the penalty for improperly sharing private information held by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is also raised from $10,000 to $25,000 (Sec. 4). This means if a data entry clerk or an IT specialist at the SSA leaks your retirement or health records, the financial punishment they face is now significantly higher. The same $25,000 fine is also applied to anyone caught wrongfully disclosing confidential census data (Sec. 6), ensuring the integrity of those once-a-decade population counts.

The Bottom Line for Busy People

This bill is straightforward: it’s about deterrence through dollars. It doesn't introduce new compliance nightmares for businesses or new taxes for families. Instead, it focuses the economic pain squarely on those who violate the public trust by misusing or stealing government data. For you, the person who relies on the government to keep your medical records, tax history, and Social Security number safe, this bill means that the people responsible for that data face a much larger financial risk if they drop the ball or act maliciously. While the fines are now much higher for those who break the rules, the bill doesn't specify how these increased penalties will be enforced or how the agencies will improve oversight, leaving the implementation challenge with the federal departments themselves.