Report Finds FBI Still Vulnerable To Espionage

The FBI remains vulnerable to espionage because it has failed to fully implement recommended security measures after the February 2001 arrest of longtime spy Robert Hanssen, the Justice Department's inspector general said yesterday.

In a report, Glenn A. Fine criticized the FBI for not creating a central repository for derogatory information about its employees, and said the agency has had mixed success in improving its background check system.

The report also said gaps in the FBI's internal security program may have contributed to a breach caused by Leandro Aragoncillo, a former intelligence analyst who provided national defense documents to former and current Philippine officials. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July.

Aragoncillo, a naturalized U.S. citizen who worked at the FBI in 2004 and 2005, received a high-level clearance after lying about the citizenship status of his relatives on a security questionnaire. Aragoncillo also exhibited unusual behavior that escaped scrutiny, including excessive use of a cellphone and questioning about other agents' cases, the report said.

"The circumstances surrounding Aragoncillo's activities and the FBI's response to them are stark reminders of the vulnerabilities that persist within the FBI's security program and the further need to address these vulnerabilities," Fine's report said.

At the same time, Fine's report acknowledged "significant progress" by the FBI in several key areas, including establishing a financial disclosure program for employees, a database for security violations and improvements in the recruitment, security and handling of intelligence sources.

The FBI has also created a special unit for detecting internal security breaches after first resisting the idea, the report said.

FBI Assistant Director John Miller responded that the FBI will continue to work with Fine's office to implement more security controls. "We have fully satisfied or made credible progress toward applying many of the recommendations," Miller said in a statement.

In a 2003 examination, Fine's office found that Hanssen was a "mediocre agent" who was able to provide U.S. secrets to the Soviets and Russians for more than 20 years because of poor oversight and lax security at the FBI.

Hanssen began spying in 1979 and is blamed for giving the Soviets information leading to the deaths of three people who spied for the United States in exchange for $600,000 and promises for about $800,000 more. He pleaded guilty to espionage charges and was sentenced to life in prison in May 2002.