"The FBI's culture glorifies criminal investigations. Agents who make big collars for successful prosecutions move up in the ranks. At the same time, the security division doesn't have anywhere near that kind of prestige, so security has become an afterthought," Grassley said. "The FBI obviously needs to make a career in security more attractive to its agents."
Grassley said the security program enhancements announced today send a signal that security will be given a much higher priority.
"Even so, there's still no assurance that just any employee inside the agency won't be able to access almost anything they'd like to on the computer system. The challenge for the FBI is to make sure that new bells and whistles for internal security don't distract FBI leaders from the fundamental scrutiny required to catch spies within their own ranks," Grassley said. "There were plenty of signs that Hanssen was betraying the United States, and the FBI missed obvious clues for decades. And it could be years before the new computer tripwire system is fully operational. So, there's a lot more to effective internal security than computer upgrades."
Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has conducted FBI oversight since 1996. A report by former FBI and CIA Director William Webster on the FBI's internal security procedures is expected this week. Early news reports indicate that the Webster report will reveal serious and longstanding shortcomings with security inside the FBI.