Cultural barriers, not technology, blamed for poor information sharing

More than five months after the Sept. 11 attacks exposed critical weaknesses in how the federal government shares information internally and with state and local agencies, a panel of agency chief information officers and corporate technology executives testified Tuesday about what the government can learn from the private sector to prevent future acts of terrorism. Appearing before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy, the CIOs agreed that political, cultural and regulatory barriers, not technological ones, are impeding the ability of agencies to share terrorism-related information. Patrick Schambach, CIO at the new Transportation Security Administration, told the members of the subcommittee that his agency "will rely heavily on information sharing and a solid technological platform on which to operate." TSA has launched a search for a contractor to oversee its most daunting task: putting in place more than 1,700 explosive-detection machines to screen luggage at every airport in the United States by the end of the year. State Department CIO Fernando Burbano said that while his department's employees are ready to handle new challenges, he couldn't make the same claim for State's ability to share information. "Since Sept. 11, we have continued to work with the law enforcement community to obtain greater sharing of information on terrorists and other undesirables," Burbano testified. State's strategic information technology plan calls for the extensive use of biometrics in processing visas. However, the department has yet to take serious steps toward implementing that plan. S. W. Hall, CIO at the Customs Bureau, testified that heightened counter-terrorism measures have strengthened the agency's overall interdiction efforts at the nation's borders. He said that the department's ongoing technology modernization project "will offer major advances in both the collection and sorting of trade data" to help monitor vehicles and containers entering the country. Federal Emergency Management Agency CIO Ron Miller said the government also needs to develop a way to better share information and services with state and local officials. Miller said that FEMA was a model of interagency and intergovernmental cooperation, and, is in a position to bring a "much-needed perspective" to policy makers in the Office of Homeland Security. After hearing from government officials, representatives from the private sector concurred that technology is the least of the government's problems, then proceeded to pitch their companies' products to members of the subcommittee as homeland security solutions. Tom Siebel, chairman and chief executive officer of Siebel Systems, a software manufacturer headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., said the government has been slow to act. "While we have seen a lot of discussion around this topic, it appears that very little real work is getting done to provide a solution." Siebel and his colleagues have been demonstrating a new homeland security software package for tracking terrorism suspects to Washington officials and members of the news media. Industry must take more risks in forming partnerships with government "to the mutual advantage of both parties," said Alfred Mockett, chairman and chief executive officer of American Management Systems, an e-business consulting firm in Fairfax, Va. Al Edmonds, president of government solutions for Electronic Data Systems Corp., a major government contractor located in Plano, Texas, agreed and said his company would help agencies share information while protecting the privacy of citizens. Stephen Rohleder, the managing partner of consulting firm Accenture's U. S. government division, said new technologies on the market today could enhance information sharing. In his testimony, Rohleder plugged Accenture's long-time relationship with Siebel, calling the company a pioneer in the corporate information-sharing market.