FBI rapped over missing laptops

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

FBI, DoJ

NEWS
Federal police in the US appear to have a bad habit of losing their laptops. The Justice Department's inspector general said Monday that law enforcement groups including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Marshals Service suffer from "a lack of accountability," with at least 400 laptop computers missing, lost or stolen. The Drug Enforcement Administration has such poor accounting practices, Inspector General Glenn Fine concluded in a 43-page report, that it could not provide a total count of missing laptops. Because the agencies kept shoddy records, the report says, it's difficult to know what information was compromised, but it speculates that "national security or sensitive law enforcement information" is at risk. Approximately 8,000 FBI laptops, or more than half of the 15,077 total, are authorized to store material classified as secret or top secret. "This raises significant concerns over laptop computer losses and the possible loss of sensitive data," the report concluded. "The (Justice Department) must improve the control of laptop computers and the safeguarding of information stored on these machines." The inspector general's investigation began in March 2001 with a look at the Immigration and Naturalization Service's property management abilities. The results were so dismaying that Attorney General John Ashcroft requested that Fine investigate the practices of the entire department, reviewing laptops and firearms missing from October 1999 through January 2002. "I thank the inspector general for his hard work and diligence in producing this report," Ashcroft said in a statement on Monday afternoon. "The Department of Justice is committed to implementing necessary reforms and policies, and these recommendations will be integral to this effort." A similar November 2001 report by Treasury Department auditors concluded that the Internal Revenue Service also had persistent problems. The IRS has lost or misplaced 2,332 laptop computers, desktop computers and servers over three years, the auditors concluded. The Justice Department's auditors also reported the following:
  • Even though the FBI's own procedures require an inventory of physical property every two years, the last inventory was conducted before 1993.
  • The police agencies organized under the Justice Department have lost 775 weapons, including losses caused by a departing employee never returning his or her firearm. The FBI has an average of 4.4 firearms per employee.
  • Guards at the Bureau of Prisons can buy guns using credit cards, a practice the inspector general suggested prohibiting.
  • FBI guidelines require that employees report lost property, but they don't say when the report must be filed. Some loss reports took 23 years to be filed, and the average time for a loss to be reported to the FBI was over four years.
  • Only 4 percent of the lost laptops "have so far resulted in recommendations for disciplinary action."
  • The total count of missing laptops and handguns could be far higher because of a "failure to record property purchases in the official property records." Also, the Immigration and Naturalization Service regularly failed to count laptops that cost less than $1,000.

For all security-related news, including updates on the latest viruses, hacking exploits and patches, check out ZDNet UK's Viruses and Hacking News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Security forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

2 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

7 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

16 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material