For Immediate Release
February 3, 2005
|
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
|
FBI
RESPONDS TO INSPECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT ON MANAGEMENT
OF THE TRILOGY PROGRAM
Washington, D.C. -- The
FBI responded today to the Inspector General's report entitled, "The
Federal Bureau of Investigation's Management of the Trilogy Information Technology
Modernization Project."
The FBI appreciates the
Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) assessment of the progress of our
Trilogy technology modernization project. We are reviewing the final report
and recommendations and will give them thorough review and consideration.
Based upon our preliminary
review, the OIG's findings and recommendations are consistent with the FBI's
internal reviews and with those of other oversight entities. However, the
FBI's capacity to access, analyze, and share data internally and externally
has improved considerably since the OIG began work on this report. Accordingly,
we have already made significant progress in addressing the recommendations
and key issues raised in the report.
While we are not where
we wanted to be at this time with our automated case management system, the
Virtual Case File (VCF), it is important to note that all FBI Special Agents
and Intelligence Analysts have access to necessary data through existing
systems as well as new capabilities, including the Investigative Data Warehouse
(IDW), for searching, analyzing, and retrieving counterterrorism data.
Director Robert S. Mueller,
III, addressed the delay by saying, "I am disappointed that plans to
fully deploy an automated investigative case management system for the FBI
have been delayed, but I am confident that the Bureau is moving in the right
direction. We have made substantial information technology improvements,
which directly support our counterterrorism mission and continue to safe-guard
our nation.
"In many ways, the
pace of technological innovation has overtaken our original vision for the
VCF, and there are now products to suit our purposes that did not exist when
Trilogy began. We have also seen significant changes in our mission, organization,
and in the need for more effective collaboration with our partners in the
Intelligence and Law Enforcement communities. As we move forward, we will
leverage the technologies that we have developed, including an interface
with our existing data systems, to make it a relatively quick and smooth
process to add new software applications for accessing FBI data.
"Fundamental changes
in the way IT is managed in the FBI will ensure that we move forward in a
manner that supports our mission, priorities, and Strategic Plan, and that
is consistent with industry best practices and established principles of
IT management. Our new approach to IT management has helped us develop critical
new tools to enhance our intelligence and counterterrorism capabilities,
such as our new FBI Intelligence Information Reports Dissemination System,
which helps us disseminate intelligence reports quickly and efficiently,
and theInformation Data Warehouse, which enhances our ability to find linkages
between data from multiple sources.
"We appreciate the
OIG's guidance throughout this process and we look forward to working with
them to implement any recommendations that have not yet been fully addressed."
For more information
on the FBI's IT modernization efforts and progress in implementing the recommendations
in the OIG report, please see the FBI's formal response, attached to the
report. The FBI's formal response can also be found on our website at www.fbi.gov.
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