Federal employees told to assume 'malign foreign actors' are reading emails to Musk

24 February

Elon Musk gestures onstage as he attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025.

At least one federal agency is warning federal employees to watch what they say in their work emails, according to one email reportedly from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

On Monday, journalist Marisa Kabas posted the text of an email she received from a purported source at HHS that contained an ominous warning. The email warned workers that if they chose to respond to centibillionaire Elon Musk's email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking them for five bullet points summarizing their work week, they should assume their words will be seen by America's adversaries.

"There is no HHS expectation that HHS employees respond to OPM and there is no impact to your employment with the agency if you choose not to respond," the email read. "That said, if you choose to respond, here are the guidelines you should follow: Respond to the email by the deadline established (today @ 11:59 P.M.). Keep your response at a high level of generality and describe your work in a manner to protect sensitive data, personally identifiable information, and applicable privileges to the extent possible."

HHS also urged employees to not "identify, by name or title, any other HHS employees with whom you have been working, to not "identify, by case name or otherwise, matters you are working on" and to not "identify any specific grants or contracts, or any specific grantees or contractors."

"If you are engaged in scientific research or reviews, do not identify by name any drugs, devices, biologics, therapeutics or similar items in your response," the guidance continued. "If you are engaged in any scientific experiments, research, or reviews, do not provide Information that could allow anyone to identify the precise nature of your work. Respond by replying to the OPM HR email as instructed, with a cc: to your supervisor."

At the end of the email, the agency cautioned workers: "Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly.

Kabas has broken other major news about Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE, (which is not yet an official federal agency authorized by Congress) including last month's freeze of federal disbursements. While multiple federal judges have indicated that funds are to be distributed as normal while litigation plays out, some nonprofits have said they still can't access the funds that were appropriated to them even after court rulings.

Click here to read the full email on Kabas' Bluesky account.

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