Since terrorists attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, the government has begun a robust, and oft-criticized, electronic-surveillance program, but other IT-related security projects designed to thwart terrorism have made little progress.

Better cybersecurity leadership, more cargo scanning on airplanes and ships and interoperable communications networks for emergency response agencies have all developed slowly. In some cases, fights in Congress have slowed progress, or the U.S. government has focused on other priorities. In other cases, the cost of IT projects has been an issue.

The fifth anniversary of the attacks will focus attention as much on what has not been accomplished to protect the U.S. from future attacks as on what has been, chiefly the surveillance system. In recent months, civil liberties groups have protested the shadowy electronic-surveillance program run by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), with alleged cooperation from large telecommunications carriers. U.S. President George Bush has defended the program as necessary and legal, even as critics point out the NSA is spying on U.S. residents without court orders.

Critics say the emphasis on surveillance instead of other technology has led to an invasion of innocent people’s privacy and has not improved the nation?s security.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), leading a lawsuit against AT&T Inc. for its alleged participation in the NSA surveillance program, says some U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have complained about the quality of the leads generated by the program. ?It?s like, ?Oh great, more calls to Pizza Hut,?? said Kevin Bankston, an EFF staff attorney. ?This many may not help us connect the dots — it may just be creating more dots.?

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Filed under: Security - @ September 12, 2006 12:00 am