Nearly every computer system draws a line between the right to look at files and the right to change them — but till now, the details barely mattered to most non-programmers. The big picture: The early days of Trump's second administration — as Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) crew execute a hostile takeover of the federal government's digital infrastructure — are giving Washington a crash course in the importance

The lawsuit alleges that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided DOGE workers with “full access” to personal and financial information of millions of individuals.

Democratic lawmakers overseeing the Treasury Department called for a probe into how Elon Musk and his aides gained access to the agency's payments system.