"New FBI Software May Be Unusable"

[GreenPartyVoter]

WASHINGTON — A new FBI computer program designed to help agents share information to ward off terrorist attacks may have to be scrapped, the agency has concluded, forcing a further delay in a four-year, half-billion-dollar overhaul of its antiquated computer system.

The bureau is so convinced that the software, known as Virtual Case File, will not work as planned that it has taken steps to begin soliciting proposals from outside contractors for new software, officials said.

The overhaul of the decrepit computer system was identified as a priority both by the independent commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks and by members of Congress, who found that the FBI's old system prevented agents from sharing information that could have headed off the attacks.

Since the attacks, Congress has given the FBI a blank check, allocating billions of dollars in additional funding. So far the overhaul has cost $581 million, and the software problems are expected to set off a debate over how well the bureau has been spending those dollars.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0113-05.htm

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[pippin]

1. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2945226&mesg_id=2945226

[Carolab]

2. Is this a JOKE?????

A Government Accountability Office report last year noted that the FBI had gone through five chief information officers in the preceding 24 months. The chief manager of the technology upgrade known as Trilogy quit last year for personal reasons after being lured from private industry two years ago.

The effort has also been the subject of a number of critical reports. Last spring, technology experts for the National Research Council found that the Trilogy project failed to reflect the FBI's new emphasis on terrorism prevention and was "not on a path to success."

A trade publication, Government Computer News, reported late last month that the Justice Department's inspector general had concluded in a draft report that Virtual Case File would also fail to meet the bureau's needs, and that officials had "no clear timetable or prospect for completing" it.

<snip>

The FBI has had preliminary discussions with a number of vendors about the possible design of new software. One approach that the bureau is considering is a case-management system that could be used by other agencies, including the departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

It is also looking into using off-the-shelf technology as a way to save money.

The FBI has retained Aerospace Corp., a nonprofit, federally funded research firm in El Segundo, to conduct an independent evaluation of Virtual Case File.

It has also hired BAE Systems, a British defense contractor, to identify and evaluate the specific needs and requirements for any permanent system.

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And just WHO are these people? Aerospace Corp. and BAE? Why were they chosen to look into it?