Terrorist Computers & 911

September 2008

Terror threat system crippled by technical flaws, says Congress. A U.S. House subcommittee is charging that a $500 million IT project intended to “connect the dots” on terrorists and help prevent another 9/11 is a failure; it can’t even handle basic Boolean search terms, such as “and,” “or” and “not.” Allegations of waste and mismanagement were outlined in a staff memo and letter from the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, which is part of the Committee on Science and Technology. The material was released last week in what is a usually a quiet month for Congress during its August recess. The bulk of the subcommittee’s charges come from a memo prepared by subcommittee staff about a data integration project called Railhead, which is intended to help intelligence and law enforcement agencies uncover terrorist plots. Railhead, due to be ready by year’s end, was supposed to combine and upgrade existing databases called Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment and improve terrorism-fighting capabilities. But the project is in such bad shape -- suffering from delays and cost overruns – that Subcommittee Chairman said: “There may be current efforts under way to close down Railhead completely.”