Thank you,
Tammy, for that generous introduction. It is a privilege to be
here with you and with the other distinguished members of this
historic club.
You
may not be aware that the FBI and the Press Club have a couple
of things in common. Both of our organizations were founded in
1908. But most importantly, we both are committed to the pursuit
of information: We in the FBI are tasked with discovering information.
You in the press are also paid to discover information. We have
investigators; you have investigative reporters. We do our best
to keep our sensitive information secure. And, you do your best
to put it on the front page. In all seriousness, the search for
the truth is the heart of what we both do. We seek information,
vet it, labor over its accuracy, and piece it together to make
sense of the larger story. And now, in the year 2003, that information
is increasingly global, relating to actions and events outside
of the United States, that impact us within the United States.
Today,
I want to discuss with you the threats we are facing and how the
FBI is changing to address those threats.
THE
THREAT
When
I was sworn in as Director of the FBI in September 2001, I knew
then that the FBI needed to change. I did not know, however, how
quickly it needed to change nor the extent of that change. The
September 11th attacks required that we dramatically shift our
priorities. Overnight, the FBI's top priority became protecting
Americans from terrorism.
Despite
our progress since then, the war is far from over. The threat
is real, and the threat is not just from terrorists. It is also
from international organized crime, from computer hackers operating
across global networks and from foreign companies trying to steal
corporate secrets and technologies.
The
threat of today and of the future is a dangerous convergence of
terrorist, intelligence, and criminal groups, all operating to
some extent over the Internet and through interconnected, sophisticated
networks. In this environment, the traditional distinctions between
organized crime, cyber crime, espionage, and terrorism have broken
down. Organized crime may launder money for terrorists. Credit
card fraud may be perpetrated by the Russian mafia or by al Qaeda
operatives. Spies from enemies and allies alike may use hacker
tools to reach into our computer systems and steal trade and defense
secrets.
The
number of countries engaged in espionage against the United States
has increased with the end of the Cold War some 19 countries
are actively engaged in acquiring U.S. economic secrets. And the
players are not just intelligence agents; they are university
students, businessmen, and company insiders. Our enemies
and some of our allies covet our technology, manufacturing
processes, and trade secrets. Economic espionage is costing U.S.
businesses more than $200 billion a year in intellectual property
theft.
We
are also seeing growth in the number of traditional crimes that
have migrated online and exploded on company doorsteps: fraud,
identity theft, and copyright infringement. At the same time,
computer intrusions, denial of service attacks, and attacks on
the Internet's root servers and domain system are taking wing.
A London-based security firm determined that worldwide digital
attacks reached an all-time high of nearly 20,000 in January,
causing more than $8 billion in damages.
The
common denominator in these expanding areas of criminal threat
is their international dimension. When I began my career as a
prosecutor in my first U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco
in the seventies, rare was the case that had international connections.
Now, it is unusual if an investigation does not have an international
nexus. This is because crime now has worldwide reach with the
progress of technology and communications; because terrorists
have global reach and global networks; and because the dawn of
the cyber world permits hackers and other cheats to commit their
crimes remotely from the corners of the world.
The
FBI is adjusting to keep pace with this global change. I would
like to cover several of the ways that the FBI is changing to
meet the threats of this new world.
HOW
THE FBI HAS CHANGED
Our
first effort since 9/11 has been to overhaul our counterterrorism
program from top to bottom. This has been an ambitious and all-consuming
effort one that has caused our counterterrorism chief,
Larry Mefford, to quote Churchill's admonition: "When you're
going through hell, keep going."
Though
difficult, this effort has dramatically improved our capacity
to protect the nation in a number of ways. To improve effectiveness
and accountability, we have centralized our counterterrorism operations
and vested responsibility for the national program at Headquarters.
We have increased the number of Agents devoted to terrorism by
1700, and we have hired nearly 250 new counterterrorism translators.
We have quadrupled the number of counterterrorism analysts. And
we have established specialized counterterrorism units to attack
terrorist financing; to analyze and exploit recovered documents
and intercepted communications; and to analyze incoming terrorist
threats.
These
efforts have paid off. Over the last 20 months, the FBI and our
partners, both here and abroad, have identified, disrupted, and
neutralized over a hundred terrorist threats and cells. Worldwide,
we have apprehended almost 3000 Al Qaeda operatives, according
to State Department figures. And more than one third of Al Qaeda's
top leadership has been killed or captured. We have conducted
over 70 investigations into terrorist money trails, and we have
frozen more than 125 million dollars in assets. And most importantly,
we have not fallen victim to another catastrophic terrorist attack.
We
have also made significant changes to meet our second operational
priority the protection of the United States against foreign
intelligence operations and espionage. As we did with counterterrorism,
we are building a nationally directed program for counterintelligence,
a program that will allow us to be more proactive in protecting
critical national assets. The new counterintelligence program
includes: (1) a highly trained counterintelligence workforce,
with specialized squads in most of our field offices; (2) enhanced
analytical support that is interwoven into the intelligence community
as a whole; and (3) an improved capacity to develop the human
intelligence that is essential to foiling foreign intelligence
operations that target our interests.
After
counterterrorism and counterintelligence, cyber crime is our next
priority. Cyber investigations used to be done on an ad hoc basis
in many different divisions and programs. Last year, we created
a Cyber Division which consolidated responsibility for investigations
involving cyber viruses, privacy invasions, child pornography
on the Internet and fraudulent e-commerce. From February to May
of this year alone, we have opened over 90 cybercrime investigations
involving 84 thousand victims worldwide and losses exceeding $162
million. These cases have resulted in 97 arrests and 64 separate
indictments for cybercrime offenses.
Key
to the Bureau's transformation in all these areas has been the
complete overhaul of our information technology systems to move
the FBI from a paper-driven organization to one that employs the
latest technology. We have brought in professionals from private
industry to help pull, and push, the Bureau into the digital age.
From new hardware, upgraded networks, to better investigative
applications, we are making progress. Through initiatives already
in the works, we will soon have systems that will better search
and analyze data, and allow us to manage our case files and reports
electronically for the first time in our history.
Meanwhile,
terrorists, foreign governments and other adversaries continue
to develop new technologies to target our national and economic
security. To keep pace with their efforts, we in the FBI must
continue to develop our technology and expertise. Instead of being
a follower, the FBI must become a leader in technology.
I
started off today talking about "information" and how
it is at the heart of both of our operations. So I know I am talking
to an appreciative audience when I say that sometimes the problem
isn't lack of information, but rather nearly unmanageable amounts
of it. We have nearly 12,000 special agents who collect information
every working day and who are extremely good at it. For the FBI
to identify and understand the threats against our nation
and do so in very
compressed time frames it is essential that we have the
personnel and the infrastructure to crystallize the actionable
intelligence out of that ocean of information.
To
this end, we are in the process of building a comprehensive intelligence
program. First, we are building a highly-trained cadre of 700
analysts at Headquarters. Second, we are putting state-of-the-art
technology and tools on their desks. And third, we are perfecting
an integrated intelligence structure that centralizes program
management oversight at Headquarters and establishes intelligence
analysis units in every field office. These internal changes are
transforming our intelligence effort from tactical to strategic,
and enabling us to be a leader in intelligence sharing with our
U.S. and international partners.
Aside
from having the right tools, it is essential that we work closely
with our counterparts. Because terrorists operate at every level
from local, to regional, to global the terrorist
threat must be fought at every level. Success depends on an extensive
network of partnerships and alliances. One of our most important
missions since 9/11 has been to strengthen our partnerships at
all levels.
Our
66 Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country are staffed
with state and local police, along with personnel from the CIA
and other federal agencies. Our Headquarters operations are staffed
with employees from a myriad of law enforcement and intelligence
entities. And now, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security and
other intelligence community employees are working side by side
in the new Terrorist Threat Integration Center. Doing so to ensure
that threat information from abroad is fused with our domestic
intelligence. These efforts have paid off with successful operations
from Portland, to Buffalo, to yesterday's conviction of an individual
from Columbus, Ohio.
Now,
we are poised to expand this cooperation overseas. Recently I
traveled to the Middle East to meet with my counterparts in Jordan,
Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Tunisia, and
Morocco. I visited the sites of several deadly bombings in Israel,
and I met with Saudi and Moroccan officials to discuss the investigations
into last month's attacks in Riyadh and Casablanca.
These
visits reinforced my belief that our success against terrorism
and international crime will be determined, in large part, by
the quality of the relationships we develop with our counterparts
overseas. Time and again, we commented that we have to stop meeting
at crime scenes, after a terrorist attack, and that we need to
meet more often to prevent these crimes from occurring.
As
we have forged stronger law enforcement partnerships within the
United States, so too must we now strengthen our relationships
with our counterparts across the globe. We currently have about
200 employees in 45 different Legal Attache offices around the
world. Last year, these employees handled over 53 thousand investigative
leads, up from about 27 thousand the year before. That statistic
alone tells us something about the increasing globalization of
crime and the imperative for expanded international coordination.
Only by sharing information and working directly with our law
enforcement allies abroad will we have the opportunity to stop
criminal and terrorist threats abroad, before they reach our shores.
A
review of the FBI's progress would not be complete without mention
of our greatest asset our employees. The men and women
who serve in the FBI are fully dedicated to protecting America.
They are working night and day to do so.
I
often hear people say that we need to change the "FBI culture."
But they have it wrong. The "FBI culture" is the ethic
of hard work, integrity, excellence and dedication to protecting
the American public, all within the confines of the Constitution.
I see this culture every day, in every FBI office, and in every
FBI employee. We do, however, need to focus our limited resources
on the most significant threats to the safety of our communities,
and change the way we afford protection to those communities;
understanding that we are doing so in a global environment.
I
have covered a fair amount of territory today. So let me conclude
now with a final thought, before responding to your questions.
One
week after my first day on the job at FBI Headquarters, on September
11th, terrorists used our own commercial airlines to attack the
American people. That day was and will always be
a symbol of the devastatingly lethal threats that are pointed
at America. In addition, it was a clarion call for change within
the law enforcement and intelligence communities.
The
FBI is a relatively small organization, but a determined one.
We in the FBI and I believe I speak for every man and woman
in the organization have committed ourselves to making
the fundamental changes that are necessary to combat the terrorists
and criminals who target our country. We have made a lot of progress;
we are on the right track; and today's FBI will meet and
will defeat all threats against the security of our nation.
Thank
you for having me today. I look forward to your questions.