Security issues trip up DHS info-sharing network

Connect with state & local government leaders
 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Agency may have rushed to complete network under a false deadline.

The Homeland Security Department's critical Homeland Secure Data Network (HSDN) — one of its backbone networks for sharing critical information — is not only insecure, according to a recent inspector general report, but it was so rushed into operation that it will largely not meet user needs.HSDN is a much-touted network intended to improve sharing of classified data with 600 law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Richard Skinner, acting inspector general at DHS, said he doubts that the network in its current state "will satisfy users' functional and security needs, and adequately protect classified information."The report found that the chief information officer's office held few meetings with users and developers to determine what HSDN needed to accomplish. Yet HSDN still missed most of its deadlines, including its scheduled December 2004 implementation date, the report states.The IG report contains "pretty damning stuff," said Steve Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. Information sharing is central to the war on terrorism, he said, and "what this report says is that information sharing in the government is still nowhere near where it needs to be."Misunderstanding fueled DHS' haste, the IG report states. "The CIO's office believed that the DOD planned to terminate DHS' access to the DOD secure network by Dec. 31, 2004," the report states.DHS officials had the impression in March 2004 that the Defense Department would cut DHS' access to DOD's Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET). At that time, Steve Cooper, who recently left the DHS CIO post, accelerated the network's development to finish it in nine months.The report states, however, that the manager of SIPRNET said DOD had no intention of cutting off DHS' access. Instead, the military intended to gradually phase out services once HSDN was online, according to the IG report.Skinner and Cooper didn't address the underlying question of why DHS officials would think that DOD would bar DHS from the classified network.Skinner's office declined to comment. DHS spokesman Larry Orluskie said CIO officials knew all along that DHS was not going to lose access to SIPRNET and that Dec. 31 was merely a target date. The CIO's office worked aggressively to keep its promise to DOD to finish the project on time, Orluskie said, adding that wording in the IG report is imprecise.The wording of the report — "the CIO's office believed" — is fuzzy compared with the precision usually associated with such reports, Aftergood said. "It raises questions of whether this was going to happen or this was a misunderstanding."The IG report, combined with DHS' reputation for mismanaging its programs, has homeland security experts baffled and a little skeptical."It all sounds kind of screwy," said James Carafano, senior fellow for national security and homeland security at the Heritage Foundation. "If you need to rely on a secure system, you don't rush something into place that isn't secure."John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity. org, a nonpartisan defense research organization, said the argument that DHS would be yanked off SIPRNET before its own secure network was ready doesn't make sense. DHS would never be arbitrarily barred from the classified information it needs to do its job, he said.The CIO office's explanation in the report "means that the senior management of this program had a fundamental misunderstanding of a really easy-to-understand concept," Pike said. The explanation given makes sense, he said, only if "these people couldn't manage their way out of a Glad bag."





























NEXT STORY: Jacksonville gives data on demand

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.