The FBI, which has been criticized in the past for not always being up to snuff in the area of computers, is trying to advance its high-tech capabilities. The money is there. Now it’s up to the bureau to follow through.
By Jason Ryan
ABC NEWS
WASHINGTON — The release of the 2010 budget request has shed more light on some FBI surveillance programs the bureau is currently developing and testing.
While the FBI has been criticized at times for its slow reforms after the 9/11 attacks, which revealed the FBI did not have adequate computer resources, some of the new programs sound like something out of a high-tech cloak and dagger film.
The budget request shows that the FBI is currently developing a new “Advanced Electronic Surveillance” program which is being funded at $233.9 million for 2010. The program has 133 employees, 15 of whom are agents.
According to the budget documents released Thursday, the program, otherwise known as “Going Dark,” supports the FBI’s electronic surveillance intelligence collection and evidence gathering capabilities, as well as those of the greater Intelligence Community.
