8-22-02, Danny McBride
Laptop Dance
By Danny McBride
IPS Features
News Item from USA TODAY, August 8th. Dateline: Tampa, Florida- - -
“Two computers are missing from the Florida
headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, which is running the military
operation against Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, a military
spokesman said yesterday. “I can
confirm two computers are missing. An
investigation is under way,” said Lt. Col. Martin Compton of Central Command,
located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
Col. Compton would not say what the Central Command computers were used
for or how long they had been missing.
The disclosure came two days after a U.S. government report said the FBI,
Immigration and Naturalization Service and three other U.S. Justice Department
law enforcement agencies had at least 400 laptop computers stolen, lost or
missing over a recent two-year period.”
FOUR HUNDRED? This might really be a problem except for this story from Reuters in the August 16th Boston Globe. Dateline: Washington- -
“Tens of thousands of U.S. military and government computers containing sensitive information are easily accessible over the Internet, a computer security firm that cracked the networks said today. Military encryption techniques, correspondence between generals, recruits’ Social Security and credit-card numbers and other sensitive information is often stored on Internet-connected computers that use easily guessed passwords or in some cases no passwords at all, said an official at San Diego security firm ForensicTec Solutions Inc.”
Okay, but the FBI will get ’em. Or will they? Also from Reuters from back on July 1st - -
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation remains plagued by a lack of basic technology the average office worker takes for granted -- the ability to search text using more than one term or the ability to run even the 7-year-old computer operating system Windows 95.”
How can all this be? This is so disheartening. These are the guys protecting us?
My appreciation for law enforcement was shaped by Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday on Dragnet and Broderick Crawford as Dan Matthews on Highway Patrol: “Whenever the laws of any state are broken, a duly authorized organization swings into action. It may be called the State Police, State Troopers, Militia, The Rangers- - -or The Highway Patrol.” Music up and under: “It was Friday the 13th - -No wait- -I’m Friday- -It was Monday the 13th. We were pulling the daywatch out of homicide on terrorist activities. My partner’s Harry Morgan. The Chief is Ben Alexander. We got word that a band of Saudis had entered the country illegally. The lead singer of the band- -or rather- -the leader of the band was reported to be none other than the dreaded Al Qaeda. Al was wanted on a variety of charges including murder, terrorism, starting a war and writing bad checks.”
That’s all in the past. Friday always got “Just the facts, Ma’am” and Dan Matthews always got his man. Now we’re faced with the present-day reality that the technology the FBI is using, or the military, and the security measures in place, are less sophisticated than in a 1950s police drama.
It wasn’t that long ago that that FBI stopped using 3X5 file cards. In the days after the September 11th terrorist attacks, the FBI computer system did not have the capacity to distribute mug shots of the 19 suicide hijackers to investigators in the bureau’s 56 U.S. field offices and its posts overseas, according to FBI Executive Assistant Director Robert Chiaradio testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this past March.
The FBI has about 27, 000 employees in over 500 locations around the world. Some of these people work on pre-Windows 95 computers that connect on a low-speed communications network. A consultant working to help the FBI upgrade its archaic system was quoted in the Reuters item saying “Not even a year ago they still couldn’t run Windows 95 on 13,000 computers”.
This is all part of what made FBI whistle-blower Coleen Rowley so outraged when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee back in June. She told Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that his teenaged daughter has a better computer set-up in her bedroom than the nation’s chief law enforcement agency. According to Ms Rowley, the FBI’s computers do not allow agents to search agency documents referring to “aviation schools”.
Nor can agents receive email on their computers.
Why don’t they call Bill Gates? It’s, like, NATIONAL SECURITY and all. He’s done well here. He
probably wouldn’t mind sending someone over to make sure he keeps doing well.
GAWD- -at least we should send over “The Dell Dude”.
Me? I’m sending an email to let them know how upsetting this all is.
10-4.
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