Homeland security and information sharing: Federal policy considerations

Inadequate information sharing by federal entities was a factor in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Among the responses to this shortcoming is Section 892 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which mandates the prescription of homeland security information-sharing procedures by the President. This responsibility has been delegated to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the required procedures are expected to be issued in some form, preliminary or final, during the summer of 2004. Those developing these procedures will encounter what one information security expert describes as "a series of bureaucratic fiefdoms, a veritable 'patchwork quilt,' that has come about as a consequence of a hodgepodge of laws, regulations and directives with respect to how the Federal Government handles and discloses information." Examined in this review are some of the discernable uncertainties in the creation of the information-sharing procedures, and some of the policy considerations involved. Published by Elsevier Inc.