11 April 2015

FBI Still Lagging Behind in Computer-Based Intelligence and Analyses; Bureau Techies Unappreciated by FBI Leadership

April 9, 2015

At the end of March the U.S. FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) released a report on FBI use of Internet and computer based operations. While acknowledging progress in developing Internet based intelligence and analysis capabilities within the FBI it was pointed out these capabilities are not yet fully appreciated by senior leadership. This leads to less use of FBI Internet and software experts than possible. Computer savvy field agents have a hard time getting all the attention they could use when it comes to FBI Cyber War and analysis resources. FBI Internet experts also have a hard time getting all the tools they need because their work is not seen as important as it actually is. As bad as this sounds it is actually good news because the FBI has made a lot of progress in this area in the last decade. 

Since 2000 the FBI has been striving to catch up with the demand for special agents and support staff possessing the computer skills needed to deal with computer based crime and espionage. A 2011 survey found that about a third of the agents assigned to computer crime teams felt they lacked the skills to handle all the demands of the job.

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