Homeland Security to Replace Anti-Terrorism Network

A new report suggests the Department of Homeland Security is scrapping its relatively new $90 million network for sharing anti-terror information with state and local governments.

In an article on the IT Business Edge website, Susan Hall says DHS Undersecretary for Management Paul A. Schneider sent out a memo saying the missions of the network were hampered by the proliferation of more than 100 Web portals that provide poorly coordinated information.

The network originally had missions in the areas of counterterrorism, immigration enforcement and disaster management, Hall says.

The Web-based system for sensitive, but unclassified, information includes chat and instant messaging, as well as reports of suspicious activity and analysis of terrorist threats.

Hall says the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has labeled the system a “high-risk area” for the past two years.

Department spokesperson Russ Knocke told the Washington Post that replacing the system was akin to Microsoft issuing an updated version of its software.