Skip to main content

Hawaii just fired the person who sent that false missile alert

Hawaii has fired the person who sent the false missile alert to terrified islanders’ smartphones on January 13. The administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HEMA) has also resigned following the error.

A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report released on Tuesday, January 30 blamed the incident, which had islanders running for cover in fear of an incoming ballistic missile, on “a combination of human error and inadequate safeguards.”

Recommended Videos

Steps have now been taken “to help ensure than an incident like this never happens again,” the report said.

Officials said that the individual who pressed the alert button believed at the time that it was a real emergency. But they added that the same person had previous performance issues and had gotten mixed up between real events and drills on at least two other occasions.

A detailed account of what happened at HEMA on the morning of January 13 can be found here.

The governor messed up, too

The Wireless Emergency Alert was sent in error by the worker after he accidentally selected the incorrect option on a computer during what was supposed to be a training exercise.

Hawaii governor David Ige said last week that he discovered the alert was a mistake two minutes after it was sent to islanders’ handsets at 8.07 a.m. But it took him a very long 17 minutes to send out a tweet reassuring everyone that it was a false alarm.

Why? Because he couldn’t remember his Twitter password.

The governor admitted the embarrassing mistake at a press conference attended by the Honolulu Star.

Realizing it might be a good idea to inform everyone that no missile was on its way, Ige, clearly not a Twitter power user, went to log into his account. But he couldn’t recall the all-important password.

“I have to confess that I don’t know my Twitter account log-ons and the passwords, so certainly that’s one of the changes that I’ve made,” Ige, 61, told reporters.

The governor finally got a tweet out 17 minutes later at 8:24 a.m., telling his followers that there was “no missile threat to Hawaii.” While you might be wondering why it took him more than quarter of an hour to hit the “forgot password” link and go through the usually brief process of resetting it, Ige said in his defense that he was also “making calls to the leadership team both in Hawaii Emergency Management as well as others.”

There’s a sliver of possibility that some of those calls were about his Facebook password, as a message didn’t show up on that particular social network until 23 minutes after the initial alert. Or perhaps he was making calls inquiring about how to send a state-wide cancellation alert using the WEA system, as that took a full 38 minutes to go out. But Ige made no mention of those matters at the press conference.

The governor promised he’s now on top of the password situation, but said he understood the fear that those in Hawaii must have felt during the long wait for the alert cancellation to appear.

In a tweet posted in the hours after the incident, Ige described it as “a terrifying day when our worst nightmares appeared to become a reality,” adding that he was “sorry for the pain and confusion caused.”

Updated on January 30, 2018, to include news of the worker’s firing.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Apple’s iOS 26 public beta may finally arrive next week
Could apple's iOS 26 beta drop next week?
The control center with Liquid Design on the iOS 26 developer beta 1 running on the iPhone 16 Pro

Why it matters: Apple fans dying to try the latest iPhone OS have faced a wait longer than expected for the iOS 26 public beta, diverging from Apple's usually rapid rollout. A near-term release could help ramp up user testing , work out bugs, and increase excitement ahead of the full launch this fall, especially as rivals like Google push AI-heavy Android updates.

The big idea: Multiple reports suggest Apple is looking at July 23rd for the iOS public beta debut, based on insights from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This follows the developer beta 3 rollout on July 7, which skipped the typical one-week public follow-up.

Read more
Act fast and save $400 on the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar
The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar in Carbon Gray.

We're getting to the point where it is more and more affordable to get one of the best smartwatches or fitness trackers. The tech has been around for quite some time and we're even to the point where some government officials are wanting everyone to have a health tracker. So, I shouldn't be too surprised to see this deal on the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar at its lowest price on Amazon, ever, but I am a little bit. I just covered the gray and orange version getting a $250 discount a few months ago and here I am, looking at a different color with a $400 discount. Right now you can get the 47mm, Carbon Gray colored, Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar for just $500, a very decent drop from its usual $900, by tapping the button below. If you want, however, keep on reading to get a reminder on just how great this smartwatch is.

$500 at Amazon

Read more
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 preorder deals plus $50 credit
The back of the Galaxy Z Fold 7

Samsung Galaxy phones have entered their lucky number 7 era. We've got the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE all coming out later this month. And, if you pre-order now, you can yours by July 25th. Plus, if you pre-order after tapping the button you will receive an additional $50 credit in addition to all other pre-order discounts. This is the strongest pre-order offer available, so be sure to take advantage of it. Tap the button now and start making your selections. Just note that after you hit the button you'll only have 30 minutes to get the $50 credit. As a result, we recommend clicking now and then following along with the pre-order advice guide.

Preorder now

Read more