As Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency attempts to gain access to government records that contain sensitive personal data, some may be wondering about how to protect their identities from theft. 

University of Michigan School of Information associate professor Florian Schaub, an expert on data privacy and cybersecurity, says “everyone should have a credit freeze” in place. 

“If you don't have a credit freeze, you're leaving yourself open to scams and potential identity theft,” he says. "I think there's a lot of uncertainty regarding who has access to potentially sensitive data, Social Security numbers and other payment information.”

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Read “Fear someone will get their hands on your data and open a new credit card? What to do next” at the Detroit Free Press. 

Florian Schaub is an associate professor of information at UMSI, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the College of Engineering and an adjunct professor of law at the Law School. Learn more about Schaub.