The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to agencies and leadership regarding counterterrorism information sharing enhancements.
According to the GAO, it remains unclear if federal programs designed to improve how terrorism-related information is shared with the intelligence community and other public and private partners meet the priority objectives set in the national information-sharing strategy.
The GAO noted that it was asked to review federal efforts related to the ISE Implementation Plan, a framework to improve terrorism-related information sharing among federal and non-federal partners via policy guidelines, common standards and technologies.
The GAO examination, according to the agency, includes the extent to which agencies took action to complete the plan’s objectives, with GAO reviewing agency documents and interviewing Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ) and White House officials about implementation efforts.
The GAO recommended Congress consider amending the ISE’s enabling statute to clarify authorities for filling the Program Manager position and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism take steps to ensure that a Program Manager is in place and implementation efforts are assessed.
Additionally, the GAO recommends Congress consider further amending the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to clarify the President has responsibility both to designate and to appoint an ISE Program Manager.
With regard to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the GAO has recommended steps be taken to ensure that once appointed the Program Manager reviews and assesses agencies’ progress implementing the Information Sharing Environment, consistent with responsibilities in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.