February 11, 2009 4:08 PM
- Text
Report: FBI's Internal Security Lacking
(CBS/AP)
More than six years after the most damaging FBI spy case in U.S. history, the arrest of turncoat Robert Hanssen, and a more recent case involving an FBI analyst in New Jersey, the FBI's internal security system still has major "vulnerabilities," according to the latest report from the Justice Department's inspector general.
CBS News reporter Stephanie Lambidakis says most of the report is classified, but a 46-page summary concludes, "the FBI must recognize the very real possibility that a spy could be working within the FBI's ranks."
After fighting with DOJ for several years, the FBI recently agreed to fix two glaring weaknesses: the need for a new unit which focuses exclusively on "detecting whether the FBI has been penetrated," and the placement of an operational outsider - from the FBI or other intelligence agency - given the FBI's refusal to consider that an FBI agent could be compromising the country's most valuable intelligence and military secrets over a 20-year period.
The report also found that the FBI's program to review suspicious employees periodically over their years of service also remained spotty because it hadn't created full case files on them. This was due at least in part to faulty technology, it said.
"While the OIG found that some of the recommendations had not yet been implemented, we continue to concur with all the recommendations made by the original report," replied the FBI in a statement.
The investigation by IG's office sought to examine the extent of internal security at the nation's lead law enforcement and domestic spy agency following the 2001 capture of Hanssen, who admitted spying for Moscow for cash and diamonds over two decades.
In addition, Aragoncillo had debt, he used his private cell phone at the same time each morning and never used it in the office, and he lied about having family members who still lived in the Philippines.
For eight months, there was no follow-up until another agency's investigation led to Aragoncillo's discovery.
ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, "contacted the FBI's New York office to inquire about Arancillo's involvement in an immigration matter involving Michael Ray Aquino, a former high-ranking Philippine police official who was later prosecuted with Aragoncillo as a co-conspirator of FBI information," said the report.
As an FBI security officer remarked, "It seems like we dropped the ball in a big way."
"We do not know whether Aragoncillo would still have been hired or his espionage prevented if the personnel security specialists had performed their jobs competently," states the report by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. "However, the failures in the personnel security process should not have occurred."
"We believe the FBI must be vigilant in attempting to deter and detect the internal penetrations that have occurred in the past and that may occur in the future," the report said.
The Office of the Inspector General does praise the FBI for widespread security improvements, especially in areas such as polygraphs and re-investigations. The number of FBI employees and contractors subject to random polygraphs has mushroomed from 550 to 18,384.
CBS News reporter Stephanie Lambidakis says most of the report is classified, but a 46-page summary concludes, "the FBI must recognize the very real possibility that a spy could be working within the FBI's ranks."
After fighting with DOJ for several years, the FBI recently agreed to fix two glaring weaknesses: the need for a new unit which focuses exclusively on "detecting whether the FBI has been penetrated," and the placement of an operational outsider - from the FBI or other intelligence agency - given the FBI's refusal to consider that an FBI agent could be compromising the country's most valuable intelligence and military secrets over a 20-year period.
The report also found that the FBI's program to review suspicious employees periodically over their years of service also remained spotty because it hadn't created full case files on them. This was due at least in part to faulty technology, it said.
"While the OIG found that some of the recommendations had not yet been implemented, we continue to concur with all the recommendations made by the original report," replied the FBI in a statement.
The investigation by IG's office sought to examine the extent of internal security at the nation's lead law enforcement and domestic spy agency following the 2001 capture of Hanssen, who admitted spying for Moscow for cash and diamonds over two decades.
The most interesting part of the report, says Lambidakis, is the section on Philippine native Leandro Aragoncillo, an analyst at the FBI's Fort Monmouth Information Technology Center in New Jersey, who pled guilty in May 2006 to four charges, including transmitting national defense information to try to destabilize the Philippine government. A tick-tock on pages 30-38 details repeated instances of suspicious behavior by Aragoncillo which didn't trigger alarm bells - including an FBI employee who saw files about "Philippines" and "corruption" on Aragoncillo's computer screen, subjects far outside his duties.
In addition, Aragoncillo had debt, he used his private cell phone at the same time each morning and never used it in the office, and he lied about having family members who still lived in the Philippines.
For eight months, there was no follow-up until another agency's investigation led to Aragoncillo's discovery.
ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, "contacted the FBI's New York office to inquire about Arancillo's involvement in an immigration matter involving Michael Ray Aquino, a former high-ranking Philippine police official who was later prosecuted with Aragoncillo as a co-conspirator of FBI information," said the report.
As an FBI security officer remarked, "It seems like we dropped the ball in a big way."
"We do not know whether Aragoncillo would still have been hired or his espionage prevented if the personnel security specialists had performed their jobs competently," states the report by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. "However, the failures in the personnel security process should not have occurred."
"We believe the FBI must be vigilant in attempting to deter and detect the internal penetrations that have occurred in the past and that may occur in the future," the report said.
The Office of the Inspector General does praise the FBI for widespread security improvements, especially in areas such as polygraphs and re-investigations. The number of FBI employees and contractors subject to random polygraphs has mushroomed from 550 to 18,384.
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