FBI's $243m security program doomed

The FBI may have to scrap a new US$170 million ($243 million) computer program designed to allow its agents to share information instantly and fix a main problem identified after the September 11 attacks.

The software was already outdated and inadequate and the bureau was able to use only about 10 per cent of the program, an FBI official said on condition of anonymity.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 director Robert Mueller's priorities in the agency's reorganisation after September 11, 2001.

"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 aeroplanes into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

The FBI was criticised for its old system of keeping paper files that could not be accessed by agents in the field.

The official said part of the problem was that the agency was trying to revamp an antiquated system all at once.

In the future, changes should be done in stages, so software would not be outdated by the time it was launched.

"I compare the FBI to changing wheels on a car that is going at 70 miles an hour," the official said.

Though Mueller said the bureau was trying to salvage the software, the official said there was a "good possibility" the FBI would need a new system, which would mean most of the US$170 million was wasted.

The FBI has suffered from its old case management system, which prevented timely sharing of information.

September 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 to send students to the United States for flight training.

The memo was sent to FBI headquarters but never acted on.

The FBI has had several failed attempts to revamp its computer system. In the past few years it 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 counter-terrorism 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.

It 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 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 - one that will allow agents to create case files on a computer instead of on paper.

An independent study should determine this month if any part of the software can be salvaged.

- REUTERS