FEC Worker Resigns as Thousands of Explicit Images Found on Government Computer
A former Federal Election Commission (FEC) paralegal specialist is accused of misusing government property by downloading thousands of pornographic images and videos to government-issued laptops and uploading explicit images to a shared FEC drive.
That’s according to an FEC Office of Inspector General (FEC OIG) Report, which opened the investigation in January 2022, after a tip that a shared FEC drive allegedly contained explicit material.
The report found the employee “violated federal regulation and agency policy concerning the use of government-issued information technology resources by downloading, copying, and/or viewing inappropriate material on his FEC-issued laptops and an FEC shared drive, between 2018 and 2022.”
OIG Investigation
OIG says in addition to five found five explicit videos found on the shared drive the employee had explicit material on two FEC-issued laptops, one issued in 2017 and the second in 2021.
The report says the employee admitted to downloading the materials to the 2021 laptop.
However, the employee denied downloading materials to the 2017 laptop.
OIG disputes that and says it found 125 gigabytes of questionable of data on the 2017 laptop.
That includes 8,166 sexually explicit or suggestive images, 687 videos with inappropriate material, adult tourism guides to find prostitutes overseas, and metadata that indicated at least 42 cameras, USB flash drives, or similar devices were connected to the laptop.
The employee is also accused of making misleading and inconsistent statements.
The matter was referred to law enforcement, as some of the images were potentially unlawful. However, the case was closed due to insufficient evidence on December 11, 2023.
The employee resigned in June 2022 and the FEC maintains it took prompt action to remove the subject’s access to FEC information systems.
Recommendations
OIG says this whole matter holds lessons for the FEC and for agencies in general when it comes to protecting networks and monitoring employee behavior.
OIG’s two recommendations to the FEC are:
· Review policies and practices concerning FEC employee use of external USB devices and the agency-established VPN to access agency systems in conducting business.
· FEC OCIO should conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the feasibility of conducting routine scans of FEC equipment to detect inappropriate material on government issued devices.