Think I could palm my old 8088 PC off on 'em? ("No virus will EVER infect your hard drive -- there IS none!")
Posted on 03/26/2004 5:13:52 PM PST by Stew Padasso
Updated: March 26th, 2004 05:30:23 PM
FBI Nears Completion of Computer Upgrade
............ CURT ANDERSON Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI's effort to modernize antiquated computer systems, already more than $120 million over budget and nearly two years overdue, will be completed this summer, FBI Director Robert Mueller says.
"I'm as frustrated, as impatient, as anybody to get our information technology to the point where we can be leaders as opposed to followers,'' Mueller told The Associated Press in an interview.
The upgrade, known as Trilogy, is intended to move the FBI from decades of dependence on paper to the digital age. But congressional investigators and some lawmakers question whether the bureau can even run the new system.
"We're concerned about the delay, and about where we're going, and how we're going to get there,'' said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., at a recent Senate hearing on the FBI budget.
Before the overhaul, begun in November 2000, many of the FBI's computer systems were 30-year-old hand-me-downs from other government agencies. Few of the bureau's 56 field offices had connections to the Internet and its networks couldn't even transmit a digital photo.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Mueller said it quickly became clear the upgrade did not go far enough in moving large amounts of investigative information into new digital databases that could be accessed throughout the FBI.
This component, known as the Virtual Case File, has been the subject of the most recent round of delays and is widely accepted as critical to the FBI's ability to quickly share information about and help connect the dots between various terrorism and criminal investigations and suspects.
"Fixing the FBI's computer problems is an essential component in our fight against al-Qaida,'' said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "The fact is that these problems continue to threaten our national security.''
In the AP interview Thursday, Mueller said he expects the final pieces of Trilogy to fall into place this summer _ about 21 months late. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, projected the cost will be just under $600 million, about $123 million more than originally expected.
Among the reasons for the higher cost and delays were the changes made to blueprints after Sept. 11 and the need to enhance security following the case of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. Mueller also replaced the entire Trilogy management team, which had been criticized for weak leadership.
The FBI is asking for another $20 million in this year's budget for technology upgrades, one of which would allow every agent and analyst to receive classified e-mail and other messages.
The FBI already has deployed some 30,000 desktop computers and other hardware to its field offices and at headquarters, and developed the encryption, storage and communications networks needed to support it, Mueller said.
As an incentive to one of the contractors building the system - Computer Sciences Corp. - if the new deadlines are missed the FBI will withhold a $5 million reward fee and the company will be responsible for half of the new cost overruns. The FBI is negotiating with another contractor, Science Applications International Corp., to include a similar incentive to meet deadlines.
The GAO, however, said questions remain about the FBI's ability to manage this new system until the bureau develops an overall vision that provides a guide for moving from current computer needs to those of the future.
Although the FBI is working on such a plan, the GAO said the entire system could be at risk of duplication, overlap and lack of integration. The GAO concluded that the FBI faces "a major challenge'' in overcoming these obstacles.
But, hey, that's close enough for government work.
Think I could palm my old 8088 PC off on 'em? ("No virus will EVER infect your hard drive -- there IS none!")
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