Concept of Operations for the Information Sharing Environment Electronic Directory Services - People and Organizations

摘要

Section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) calls for improved sharing of terrorism information to support the country's ability to effectively prosecute the counterterrorism (CT) mission. Improved sharing of information allows users to more efficiently and effectively locate, interact and connect the dots. Improvements needed to information sharing include: (1) Eliminate single points of failure; (2) Ensure that information flows not only to senior officials, but also down or laterally to operational entities; (3) Improve support to real-time operations; (4) Increase connectivity and access between users and critical information; and (5) Improve sharing among Federal, State, Local, Tribal (SLT) and private sector (PS) personnel. Additional observations and principles have been developed by CT practitioners that must be addressed in developing the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) include: (1) Integrate systems across Federal, State, Local and Tribal governments; (2) Better manage the complexity of the information flood; (3) Ensure that information sharing tactics are driven by the needs of the information users; and (4) Standardize terminology. As detailed in the IRTPA, a critical function of an effective Information Sharing Environment is an electronic directory service that facilitates personal contact between CT professionals. To begin the process of overcoming the current shortfalls in our CT capability, IRTPA directs the Program Manager, in consultation with the Information Sharing Council (ISC) to: 'Establish an initial capability to provide electronic directory services, or the functional equivalent, to assist in locating in the Federal Government intelligence and terrorism information and people with relevant knowledge about intelligence and terrorism information...'.