CISA denies mass DOGE-led firings, says employment status unaffected

A significant dispute has emerged regarding the fate of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) elite “Red Teams.” The CISA is vigorously denying reports of a mass termination by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

CISA released a statement claiming that its Red Teams – cybersecurity professionals who simulate cyberattacks to identify weaknesses in networks – are “among the best in the world.”

“Contrary to inaccurate reporting, CISA has not “laid off” our Red Teams. CISA has taken action to terminate contracts where the agency has been able to find efficiencies and eliminate duplication of effort,” the agency claims.

“CISA regularly reviews contracts across the agency to ensure that we have the capabilities that we need and that we are allocating resources in ways that make the most impact.”

The agency stresses that it is a “good steward of the taxpayer dollar” and the “contract action,” carried out “in accordance with good fiscal governance practice,” did not impact the employment status of CISA personnel.

CISA assures that its Red Teams continue to work without interruption, assisting organizations in protecting critical infrastructure from a range of threats.

The teams remain “laser-focused on helping our federal and critical infrastructure partners identify and mitigate their most significant vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This has not changed.”

Senior penetration tester Christopher Chenoweth, with over 20 years of offensive security testing experience, posted on LinkedIn that the terminated government contract with CISA impacted over 100 people.

“DOGE cut our entire Red Team and all support roles,” Chenoweth said. “The following Wednesday, DOGE cut a second CISA Red Team also doing mission-critical work. As a result, I and many other experienced Red Team operators are now seeking new opportunities.”

Some affected employees previously told TechCrunch that DOGE has axed over a hundred employees at CISA, and their network access was revoked immediately with no prior warning.