GoKawiil
Tech News
The Social Security Administration announced it is reviewing and updating records in its Social Security Number database, describing the effort as the most extensive cleanup in the agency's 91-year history. The agency said the initiative affects data tied to millions of Americans, though specifics on the changes and timeline were not detailed.
Kristin LaHargoue, who runs the Instagram account @veda.revival with over 88,000 followers, says her two US-born children have no birth certificates or Social Security numbers. She frames this as part of a sovereign citizen ideology and runs a service called Veda Revival that advises expecting parents to avoid registering births, which she claims places children under the 'jurisdiction of the US corporation.' LaHargoue says her family has traveled to more than 40 countries despite the children lacking standard identification.
Amanda Smith was arrested in Pennsylvania on a warrant from Arkansas and jailed for three nights after a scammer used a Cash App account opened in her name, with her Social Security number and birth date, to swindle someone out of $1,000. She was extradited, fingerprinted, and hit with $70,000 in combined bail, and now faces up to six years in prison on charges including computer fraud, despite saying she has never used Cash App. Cash App initially would not share account details with her because she could not prove ownership of an account she says was never hers; she eventually obtained records through court discovery.
Military retirement checks and VA disability benefits will increase by 3.6% effective December 1, matching the latest cost-of-living adjustment. Stars and Stripes reports veterans will likely not see the higher payments until December 31 or early January 2027 due to processing timing.
The Social Security Administration has announced the percentage increase that will raise monthly benefit payments starting in January, marking the largest cost-of-living adjustment in several years. The raise will affect tens of millions of retirees and other recipients who rely on Social Security checks.
Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano said he expects the federal benefits program to continue operating for another 90 years. His comment comes as retirees await the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment amid rising inflation and ongoing concerns about the program's long-term financial health.
Starting October 8, more than 20 million Social Security recipients will receive a one-time $90 payment via mail or direct deposit, aimed at offsetting Medicare Part B premiums. President Donald Trump announced the rebate as part of the government’s support measures.
Christine Benz and Valentina Djeljosevic of Morningstar discussed how couples living on one income should approach retirement planning, including emergency funds and Social Security filing timing. Benz advised such couples to look beyond their current household budget and assess how retirement savings will be funded on a single salary, and to consider how the non-working spouse might re-enter the workforce later, such as through part-time or contract work.
Hackers accessed Denmark's Central Person Register in September, stealing personal data of approximately 8 million citizens and residents. The breach was uncovered on October 2, with authorities indicating that the attack involved exploiting a Danish company's authorized access to the system. The database contains sensitive information including names, addresses, and social security numbers.
Frontline Education, an edtech provider of workforce management software for school districts, is notifying affected districts that attackers exploited a vulnerability in a third-party application to access its systems on August 14, 2026. Exposed data for at least one impacted district included employees' Social Security numbers, email addresses and physical addresses. Frontline has not identified the third-party product involved or said when unauthorized access began, and school IT administrators have been confirming the notifications' legitimacy on online forums.
The Department of Defense is notifying over 2 million current and former service members that hackers accessed personnel data through the Defense Manpower Data Center starting last October. The stolen records included Social Security numbers, names, addresses, sex, race and occupational specialty, affecting 2.8 million living individuals. This follows a separate breach last month in which the ransomware group ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen FBI employee records.
The Defense Department disclosed that unauthorized users accessed a Defense Manpower Data Center system between October 2025 and July 2026, exposing personally identifiable information for about 2.76 million living people and 294,000 deceased individuals. The compromised data reportedly included Social Security numbers paired with job information for military and civilian personnel, though officials have not said how the breach occurred or who was responsible.