FBI Threat Intelligence Cyber-Analysts Still Marginalized In Agency

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.darkreading.com/risk/fbi-threat-intelligence-cyber-analysts-still-marginalized-in-agency/d/d-id/1319618

By Sara Peters
Dark Reading
3/25/2015

Despite good progress, 9/11 Review Commission says that analysts could 
have a greater impact on FBI counter-terrorism activities if they had more 
domain awareness, forensics capabilities, and were more empowered to 
question agents.

FBI threat intelligence analysts, a position created post-9/11, have 
proven their worth to counter-terror operations, but their impact has been 
limited by a lack of domain awareness, insufficient computing technology, 
and a lack of status within the Bureau, according to a report released 
today by the FBI 9/11 Review Commission. While the analysts are providing 
agents with tactical input, they are not yet participating in any 
strategic way.

Part of the intelligence analysts' job description, as described by 
FBIAgentEdu.org, is cyber-forensics and cyber-surveillance -- 
investigating computer evidence at crime scenes, retrieving information 
secured on info systems, and using linguistic and decryption technologies 
to decipher high-priority intel.

The Commission credits the Bureau with making a lot of progress to this 
point. Ten years ago, the FBI changed its focus, "re-aligned its 
intelligence and law enforcement missions and re-invented itself into a 
threat-based organization." This includes threats to critical 
infrastructure -- both physical and logical components, and the control 
systems that combine the two.

[...]



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