VISUALIZATION

The FBI said yesterday it may have to scrap a new $170 million supercomputing program designed to allow agents to share information instantly and fix a main problem identified after the Sept. 11 attacks. FBI officials said the bureau has contracted with a research company at a cost of $2 million to evaluate the problems in the project, known as Virtual Case File system, and determine what if any parts can be salvaged. One idea under strong consideration is using off-the-shelf software instead of expensive customized features that have been developed in the last few years but already appear outdated. The officials said the Virtual Case File software was commissioned from Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego in 2001 but was delayed repeatedly before being delivered last month. The software is already outdated and inadequate, with the bureau able to use only about one-tenth of the program, an FBI official said on condition of anonymity. Failure of the Virtual Case File software is the latest glitch in the bureau's effort to overhaul its supercomputer system, one of FBI Director Robert Mueller's priorities in the agency's reorganization after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "I am frustrated," Mueller said when asked about the software at a news conference in Birmingham, Alabama. "There were problems we did not anticipate." Investigations showed the FBI and other intelligence agencies failed to share information that could have helped stop the hijackers from crashing four airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. The FBI was criticized for its old system of keeping paper files that could not be accessed by agents in the field. The FBI official said part of the problem was that the FBI was trying to completely revamp a very antiquated system all at once. He said in the future, changes should be done in stages, so software will not be outdated by the time it is launched. "I compare the FBI to changing wheels on a car that is going at 70 miles per hour," the official said at a briefing. Though Mueller said the bureau was trying to salvage the software, the FBI official said there was a "good possibility" the FBI would need a completely new system, which would mean most of the $170 million was worthless. SEPT 11 PROBLEMS The FBI has suffered from its old case management system, which prevented timely sharing of information. Sept. 11 investigators made an example of a July 10, 2001, memo from an FBI agent in Phoenix outlining concerns that an effort was under way by Osama bin Laden to send students to the United States for flight training. The memo was sent to FBI headquarters but never acted upon. The FBI has had several failed attempts to revamp its supercomputer system. Over the last few years, the agency has bought new supercomputers and hardware but was waiting for the software to provide an efficient way to manage, store and share data. Although the bureau has gone through the cumbersome task of scanning all of its paper files related to counterterrorism and downloaded it into a computer database that can be accessed by agents, it does not yet have a system that allows agents to directly input complete reports electronically. Virtual Case File was meant to help do that and more. But the version of the software that has been created is lacking in many respects, the official said at a briefing with reporters. The software could not properly manage records or documents or create the proper security access control. The FBI is now doing a pilot on the small portion of the software that does seem to work -- one that will allow agents to create case files on a computer instead of on paper. An independent study should determine this month if any part of the Virtual Case File software can be salvaged. The Associated Press, Reuters and the New York Times News Service contributed to this report.