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FBI's New Info-Sharing Software Project Fails

Posted by michael on from the you-lose-some-you-lose-some dept.

Spy Handler writes "After 4 years and half a billion dollars, FBI's attempt to create new information sharing software - called Virtual Case File - simply didn't work.

2 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. A little political editorializing going on... by paranode · · Score: 4, Informative
    From the article:

    WASHINGTON -- A new FBI (news - web sites) computer program designed to help agents share information to ward off terrorist attacks may have to be scrapped, the agency has concluded, forcing a further delay in a four-year, half-billion-dollar overhaul of its antiquated computer system.

    The half-billion is entire their budget to overhaul computer systems, not how much money they spent on this software.

    This is not to say they haven't wasted any money:

    Science Applications has received about $170 million from the FBI for its work on the project. Sources said about $100 million of that would be essentially lost if the FBI were to scrap the software.

  2. Open the source! by Teun · · Score: 4, Informative
    The system as a whole might not work but as the article states there are salvageable parts in it for the FBI

    This is a prime example why public funded software ought to be open source, that way the community as a whole can pick bits and pieces out of it for further use.

    --
    "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."