Agencies rev up security, data-sharing projects following attacks

Since Sept. 11, federal agencies across government have accelerated deadlines for the development of major technology projects aimed at helping to fight the war on terrorism. Such security and knowledge management initiatives have the full support of the Bush administration, Mark Forman, associate director for information technology and e-government at the Office of Management and Budget, told federal IT executives from all corners of government at the Northern Virginia Technology Council's Policymakers Breakfast on Thursday. As a result, many agencies have more money to implement important technology projects. The State Department has accelerated the deadline for OpenNet Plus, its effort to connect 30,000 desktops to the Internet, said Fernando Burbano, the agency's CIO. State is also coordinating a new project that will create a secure database for all 40 federal agencies with overseas offices. The system will include online "communities of practice" where federal workers who focus on different practices, such as human rights, drug enforcement, crisis coordination or trade, can work together, thereby bridging agency boundaries. A pilot version of the Overseas Presence Knowledge Management System will begin in September 2002. If it is successful, the system will be deployed worldwide soon after, Burbano said. The deadline for Trilogy, the FBI's modernization program, has also been accelerated. Trilogy was supposed to be implemented over three years, starting this year, but the FBI is now expecting the project, which will upgrade thousands of personal computers and hundreds of servers, to be completed by December 2002. A key component of Trilogy is to give FBI employees the capability to collaborate via the Internet. The aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has also prompted certain agencies to begin to resolve longstanding turf battles. "The events of Sept. 11 stunned all of us in the intelligence community," said Doug Naquin, the deputy chief information officer of the CIA. Since then, the intelligence community and agencies such as the FBI and the EPA are working more closely than ever before. "The political and bureaucratic boundaries have started coming down," he said. Agencies have reassessed their priorities since the attacks, and are looking for new ways to improve data-sharing and cybersecurity, federal executives told representatives from Northern Virginia technology companies. The Secret Service is investigating such biometric technologies as palm scanners and facial recognition technology, said Stephen Colo, the Secret Service's CIO. The CIA is working to improve its ability to process incoming information. It is also reexamining its contingency planning and data backup strategies, Naquin said. He urged vendors unfamiliar with the intelligence community to begin a dialogue with the CIA. "The CIA is more open to new vendors than ever before," he said. "We remain open to the newest and freshest ideas." The Defense Department is also casting about for new ideas. Mike Wynne, the agency's principal deputy undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Northern Virginia's IT vendors can play a central role in combating terrorism. Wynne asked the Northern Virginia IT community for new and innovative ideas on how to use technology to fight terrorism. He welcomed responses on nontraditional IT areas, such as countermeasures for weapons of mass destruction and specialty munitions. The Defense Department has asked IT vendors to submit one page, online proposals by Dec. 23 at www.bids.tswg.gov. Since the initiative was announced Monday, the site has received 166,000 hits, over 5,300 registrations and 47 submissions.