Homeland Security Secretary Noem Fires Over 20 FEMA Employees for Cybersecurity Failures, Inappropriate Conduct

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has taken decisive action against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees for severe misconduct and security failures. Multiple FEMA staff members were fired for consuming racially charged and explicit pornographic content on government-issued devices during work hours, with incidents occurring at the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, a sensitive national security facility. Investigations revealed misuse including frequent social media access, sexually explicit chatbot interactions, and viewing graphic material, undermining workplace standards and exposing government systems to cyber risks. In a separate but related crackdown, Noem also terminated 24 FEMA IT department employees, including Chief Information Officer Charles Armstrong and Chief Information Security Officer Gregory Edwards, for neglecting basic cybersecurity protocols that allowed unauthorized hacker access to FEMA’s network. The cybersecurity review uncovered failures such as lack of multifactor authentication, use of prohibited legacy protocols, and deliberate avoidance of inspections, threatening national security. These measures, conducted under President Trump’s administration, reflect a broader effort to reform FEMA by addressing both internal misconduct and critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities.