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14.01.05, 06:25
FBI May Have to Scrap New Computer Program
1 minutes ago Technology - Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI (news - web sites) said on Thursday it may
have to scrap a new $170 million computer program designed to allow agents to
share information instantly and fix a main problem identified after the Sept.
11 attacks.
The software is already outdated and inadequate, with the bureau able to use
only about one-tenth of the program, an FBI official said on condition of
anonymity.
Failure of the Virtual Case File software is the latest glitch in the
bureau's effort to overhaul its computer system, one of FBI Director Robert
Mueller's priorities in the agency's reorganization after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks.
"I am frustrated," Mueller said when asked about the software at a news
conference in Birmingham, Alabama. "There were problems we did not
anticipate."
Investigations showed the FBI and other intelligence agencies failed to share
information that could have helped stop the hijackers from crashing four
airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon (news - web sites) and a
Pennsylvania field.
The FBI was criticized for its old system of keeping paper files that could
not be accessed by agents in the field.
The FBI official said part of the problem was that the FBI was trying to
completely revamp a very antiquated system all at once. He said in the
future, changes should be done in stages, so software will not be outdated by
the time it is launched.
"I compare the FBI to changing wheels on a car that is going at 70 miles per
hour," the official said at a briefing.
Though Mueller said the bureau was trying to salvage the software, the FBI
official said there was a "good possibility" the FBI would need a completely
new system, which would mean most of the $170 million was worthless.
SEPT 11 PROBLEMS
The FBI has suffered from its old case management system, which prevented
timely sharing of information.
Sept. 11 investigators made an example of a July 10, 2001, memo from an FBI
agent in Phoenix outlining concerns that an effort was under way by Osama bin
Laden (news - web sites) to send students to the United States for flight
training. The memo was sent to FBI headquarters but never acted upon.
The FBI has had several failed attempts to revamp its computer system. Over
the last few years, the agency has bought new computers and hardware but was
waiting for the software to provide an efficient way to manage, store and
share data.
Although the bureau has gone through the cumbersome task of scanning all of
its paper files related to counterterrorism and downloaded it into a computer
database that can be accessed by agents, it does not yet have a system that
allows agents to directly input complete reports electronically.
Virtual Case File was meant to help do that and more. But the version of the
software that has been created is lacking in many respects, the official said
at a briefing with reporters.
The software could not properly manage records or documents or create the
proper security access control.
The official said the Virtual Case File software was commissioned from
Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego in 2001 but was delayed
repeatedly before being delivered last month.
The FBI is now doing a pilot on the small portion of the software that does
seem to work
