FBI activates Trilogy network

The FBI on Jan. 27 began deploying the WAN that will support its Trilogy classified case management system, a bureau official said.

The bureau is relying on prime contractors Dyncorp of Reston, Va., and Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego to build the Trilogy system.

Dyncorp is providing the network hardware and desktop PCs, while SAIC is reengineering the core applications for the FBI's Virtual Case Management system, a part of the Trilogy project.

The Ethernet TCP/IP network is intended to replace the agency's existing token-ring network and to connect about 700 sites by the end of March, the official said.

The network will operate at speeds of 1.544 Mbps or faster, the official said, using commercial bandwidth. As the bureau deploys the network, it will activate an enterprise operations center to control the network and monitor its operation. The control center will be located in Washington, with backup facilities elsewhere, the official said.

The FBI's Trilogy program eventually will involve the installation of about 22,000 desktop systems in FBI offices, almost all of which have been deployed, the official said.

The Trilogy network will be kept separate from unclassified networks such as Law Enforcement Online and the Regional Information Sharing System, which are available to local police departments, the official said. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau has provided access to classified networks to some local police officers who work in Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country. The bureau conducts background checks on those officers and provides security clearances, the official said.

The Trilogy program was originally received $379 million in funding, but Congress provided an additional $78 million to accelerate the program program. .But the project's projected completion date slipped from December 2002 to June 2004. The Justice Department's inspector general last month criticized the FBI for mismanaging IT projects, missing deadlines and wasting millions of dollars as a result