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Exclusive Look at FBI's New Sentinel System
gManZboy writes "Six years and $450 million into the project, the FBI's Sentinel case-management system appears to be almost ready for deployment. Sentinel aims to replace a hodge-podge of digital and paper processes with purely digital workflows, helping FBI agents collaborate and "connect the dots" on investigations. The question now is how well the problem-plagued system will live up to those expectations. FBI CIO Chad Fulgham demonstrated Sentinel for InformationWeek on March 28, the first time the agency has shown its new case-management system to an outsider. 'This isn't just a case-management system. It's a great platform to grow on,' Fulgham said during the demo at FBI headquarters. The agency's IT team plans to move other apps over to Sentinel, giving them a similar look and feel on the same underlying hardware."
If so, how many ex-FBI contracting officers can now be found at Microsoft as "senior executives in charge of golf-ball washing"?
The user dashboard loosely resembles Microsoft Outlook
Well see now they're behind the curve again and they are going to have to redo the whole system as a giant screen covered with monochromatic rectangles containing enigmatic ideograms in order to keep up with the 21st century.
They've been working on these kinds of apps for a long time. With features like large rotating cubes as the system pulls in relevant data from every electronic appliance connected to the internet.
The government could never pull this off.
I totally believed this was a legitimate story until I got to the last paragraph:
The official word from the FBI is that the system will be launched "in the summer." Fulgham expressed confidence that Sentinel will not only work as advertised, but even come in a few million dollars under its $451 million budget. But if there are any last-minute glitches, Fulgham won't be around to fix them. Let's hope he's not needed.
I was willing to accept that the government managed to produce a functional, apparently well received and highly usable system. But a government project that came in under budget? That's pushing credibility a bit too far.
Great, now they can be bigots and racists far more effeciently
Just another example of our rights to search and seizure eroding away.
We use to laugh at the Soviets, but we have entered the same level of a police state.
Fundamentally, the Soviets had reasons for maintaining their level of security. 200M Russians died during WWII. They did not want to be subjugate to serfdom.
The American Revolution was fought over less intrusive a system than the one that we currently have. But then, the American Revolution was fought not so much over the desire for taxation without representation, but rather, as John Hancock said, "[He] did not want to give one red cent to King George of England." Ironic, as Hancock had more wealth then he could ever spend in his lifetime. Hancock employed half the population of Boston and owned one third of the property. American people sacrificed their lives for far less gain.
I can't tell. Is this an April Fool's post?
451 million dollars for software? Where are the protests now eh?
Never say never. Ah!! I did it again!
Sentinel aims to replace a hodge-podge of digital and paper processes with hodge-podge of purely digital workflows
aims to replace a hodge-podge of digital and paper processes with purely digital workflows, helping FBI agents collaborate and "connect the dots" on investigations. The question now is how well the problem-plagued system will live up to those expectations
... but i know i have seen this before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YeY1dxlC7Sg#t=109s
. . .that it got done at all, Consider its' predecessor, the Virtual Case File. . . .. It was developed. or at least they TRIED to develop it, at the FBI "CJIS" Data Center in Clarksburg, WV. I know, I've worked there. One huge building, 15 interlocking directorates which overlap and routinely ignore each other.
What happened to the Virtual Case File ??? Death by Bureaucracy. Not to mention the lack of a requirements baseline on which to design and build. In the end, huge amounts of money was wasted. $170 million on software development alone, but that doesn't include the hardware buy, all of which was nearly obsolete when they pulled the plug in 2005, but was still mouldering in an underground storeroom at CJIS in early 2007.
As Orwell put it best, these systems often enter the system as devices intent for good.
You don't have a "Total Surveillance System" in place, you have a "Terrorist Surveillance System".
Its not the "Department of War" but "Department of Defense"!
Yes there is a need for finding, prosecuting and convicting criminals, but it turns out that these systems get subjugatged for other uses.