Homeland Security network that shares classified information with intelligence and law enforcement agencies was put together too quickly to ensure it can protect the information, according the department's inspector general.
Responding, a department spokesman said Monday that the Homeland Security Data Network was still in its fledgling stages but met all security standards before it went online late last month.
In a new report, Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner said the department could not show that the network's security standards and policies were in place. The network, described in one Homeland Security document as "a new DHS backbone," was set up to share secret information with up to 600 federal, state and local agencies.
Homeland Security "does not have assurance that HSDN will satisfy user needs and adequately protect classified information," the report found.
The review of the network, which has an estimated $337 million price tag, was performed between August and November 2004. The network was scheduled to be up and running in December, but was not online until April 22, said Homeland Security spokesman Larry Orluskie.
"It's been through all of its accreditations, and is up at a number of sites," Orluskie said. Asked if the network has ever been improperly accessed or otherwise compromised, Orluskie said, "Absolutely not."
Homeland Security rushed over nine months to set up the network before December, when, it initially believed, its access to a Defense Department secure network was to be eliminated. The Pentagon has since said it plans to phase out access to its network once Homeland Security's system is up and running.
So far, only some Homeland Security agencies are hooked up to the network, which could take years to reach state and local authorities, Orluskie said.
The system is supposed to streamline what critics say is a fragmented and ineffective information-sharing process that threatens the nation's safety.
"This network is very, very important," said former Homeland Security inspector general Clark Kent Ervin, who is now at the Aspen Institute. "Getting it right is critically important because of the potential it holds to provide secure information for key players and protecting the homeland. It's critical that there be a reliable, secure and near-instantaneous means of communication in the event of an incident or an attack."
The investigation found that parts of the network had not undergone testing, and that certain security requirements and safeguards had yet to be implemented as of Oct. 31. Orluskie said the requirements have since been put in place.
In an unrelated development Monday, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Penrose C. Albright resigned from his post. Department officials said Albright, who oversaw plans, programs and budgets, was leaving to spend more time with his family.
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On the Net:
Homeland Security Department:
www.dhs.gov/
Responding, a department spokesman said Monday that the Homeland Security Data Network was still in its fledgling stages but met all security standards before it went online late last month.
In a new report, Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner said the department could not show that the network's security standards and policies were in place. The network, described in one Homeland Security document as "a new DHS backbone," was set up to share secret information with up to 600 federal, state and local agencies.
Homeland Security "does not have assurance that HSDN will satisfy user needs and adequately protect classified information," the report found.
The review of the network, which has an estimated $337 million price tag, was performed between August and November 2004. The network was scheduled to be up and running in December, but was not online until April 22, said Homeland Security spokesman Larry Orluskie.
"It's been through all of its accreditations, and is up at a number of sites," Orluskie said. Asked if the network has ever been improperly accessed or otherwise compromised, Orluskie said, "Absolutely not."
Homeland Security rushed over nine months to set up the network before December, when, it initially believed, its access to a Defense Department secure network was to be eliminated. The Pentagon has since said it plans to phase out access to its network once Homeland Security's system is up and running.
So far, only some Homeland Security agencies are hooked up to the network, which could take years to reach state and local authorities, Orluskie said.
The system is supposed to streamline what critics say is a fragmented and ineffective information-sharing process that threatens the nation's safety.
"This network is very, very important," said former Homeland Security inspector general Clark Kent Ervin, who is now at the Aspen Institute. "Getting it right is critically important because of the potential it holds to provide secure information for key players and protecting the homeland. It's critical that there be a reliable, secure and near-instantaneous means of communication in the event of an incident or an attack."
The investigation found that parts of the network had not undergone testing, and that certain security requirements and safeguards had yet to be implemented as of Oct. 31. Orluskie said the requirements have since been put in place.
In an unrelated development Monday, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Penrose C. Albright resigned from his post. Department officials said Albright, who oversaw plans, programs and budgets, was leaving to spend more time with his family.
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On the Net:
Homeland Security Department:
www.dhs.gov/
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