The Department of Justice has expressed concerns over how the FBI manages its electronic storage for media that may contain sensitive but unclassified—or SBU—information.
Michael Horowitz, the inspector general of the DOJ, said in a management advisory memorandum addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray that media containing SBU information or classified national security information are not always accounted for.
According to the memorandum, the FBI requires field offices to extract hard drives from top secret computers for destruction. However, the law enforcement agency fails to track the internal hard drives and cannot ensure that the components were destroyed.
Horowitz also pointed out that components removed from computers and servers for disposal do not have the appropriate classification label needed to identify classification levels, which is against DOJ and FBI policies.
The physical security of media storages also causes concern. Horowitz recounted an incident in which a pallet of extracted internal hard drives was left in storage for 21 months, with its wrapping torn open.
The IG recommends that the FBI update its procedures to ensure that electronic media storage containing sensitive or classified material are labeled appropriately, stored securely and always accounted for. The FBI agreed with the recommendations.
Get an update on the U.S. Intelligence Community directly from IC leaders at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Intel Summit on Sept. 19. Register here.
