FBI Director Mueller Statement Regarding the Inspector General's Report on Robert Hanssen, 14AUG03

For Immediate Release
August 14, 2003

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

FBI Director Mueller Statement Regarding the
Inspector General's Report on Robert Hanssen

Washington, DC - FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III issued the following statement regarding the Inspector General's report on "A Review of the FBI's Performance in Deterring, Detecting, and Investigating the Espionage Activities of Robert Philip Hanssen":

"The FBI appreciates the extraordinary efforts put forth by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine and his staff on the Robert Hanssen investigation. The investigation required the examination of hundreds of thousands of pages of documents spanning more than two decades and was conducted with the utmost professionalism. The FBI is open to new ways for improvement, and we welcome the observations and recommendations included in the Inspector General's report.

"The FBI has already taken significant strides in many of the areas identified by the Inspector General. In the past, the FBI had limited headquarters oversight of counterintelligence cases. Today, there is a nationally directed program for counterintelligence, centralized at FBI headquarters to ensure accountability, control, and leadership, and to allow the FBI to be more proactive in protecting critical national assets. Within the Counterintelligence Division, a special Counterespionage Section now manages all major espionage investigations. Within that section and consistent with the Inspector General's recommendations, the FBI has also established a new Penetration Unit which seeks to uncover 'moles' within the FBI.

"The new counterintelligence program includes an on-going system of accountability that clearly defines responsibilities for all elements of counterintelligence both at headquarters and in the field. It also includes improved training and greatly enhanced analytical support that is interwoven into the intelligence community as a whole.

"The FBI has built, and continues to improve, a comprehensive, centralized, and forward-looking security program. In April 2002, the FBI announced creation of a centralized Security Division headed by an Assistant Director who directly reports to the FBI Director. Since then, the Security Division has consolidated personnel security, physical security, and information security functions that were previously distributed across diverse FBI activities. I, along with the FBI's senior management, remain strongly committed to the new Security Division, and its staff and budget have grown dramatically over the past year.

"While some programs that are responsive to these recommendations are too sensitive to describe in detail, many initiatives include:

• Established a Comprehensive Security Program Plan. The Security Program Plan addresses security gaps, five-year goals, and performance measures. As part of this plan, the FBI established the Security Incident Program to be the focal point for investigation and resolution of security incidents and to help track emerging trends.

• Developed a Comprehensive Information Assurance (IA) Plan Modeled on the Best Practices of the Intelligence Community. This program has dramatically enhanced the security of its information systems. The FBI has:

Involved security experts in the development of the FBI's information technology infrastructure to ensure that Information Assurance is part of the FBI's information technology architecture.

Completed deployment on March 28 of the state-of-the-art Trilogy network that will have the capability to provide a new level of security and new capabilities, such as the ability to track unauthorized access to files.

Completing the certification and accreditation of all headquarters-based, legacy information systems, and a newly-formed wireless security team is devising security solutions for laptops and wireless communication devices.

• Established a New Enterprise Security Operations Center (ESOC). This new Operations Center, which will soon begin interim operations, is tasked with protecting FBI information systems from external attacks and insider misuse through techniques such as real time network monitoring, intrusion detection, and data auditing. The ESOC will be operated by security analysts around-the-clock.

• Instituted New Audits and Reviews To Further Help Deter and Detect Espionage Activities. The FBI has:

Expanded its polygraph program to include all employees with access to highly sensitive information or who are heading to or returning from a permanent overseas assignment.

Developed and is beginning to implement a Financial Disclosure Program that will ultimately include all FBI employees and contractors with Sensitive Compartment Information (SCI) access.

Enhanced reviews of reinvestigation results for employees with the most sensitive security access.

• Initiated Building a Bureau-Wide Force of Full-Time, Career-Track Security Professionals. An important part of the security career track will be the new full-time position of Chief Security Officer, who will serve as the senior security representative in each Division at headquarters and in the field.

• Implementing a Comprehensive Security Education, Awareness, and Training Program. FBI employees received a special issue of the FBI's employee magazine dedicated to security matters, and regular e-mail security updates and an internal Web site now provide regular guidance on security measures. Security training for new Special Agents has been increased, and a new security briefing for new employees, task force personnel, and contract personnel is in the works.

• Improved Coordination With Intelligence Community Partners. A senior CIA official is detailed to the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, and the FBI has established formal liaison with various Intelligence Community and U.S. government policy boards related to information systems security. The FBI now has a 'seat at the table' during important discussions on these matters.

"These improvements will ensure that security is embedded into all FBI activities now, and into the future. The FBI will strive to improve, and I look forward to a careful review of the Inspector General's report."