The FBI has launched two new programs that adopt artificial intelligence systems to track and counter insider threats, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.
The agency’s Javelin initiative focuses on monitoring security violations, internal misconduct and internal espionage, while the Insider Threat Analysis Platform analyzes large volumes of data to identify potential threats.
“For us, AI is a little bit tricky, in the sense that we have to be able to fully explain our methodology,” said John Adams, executive assistant director of FBI’s information technology branch. He added that the agency is building “some machine-learning capability” into the insider threat system to identify suspicious activity.
The FBI is also employing lessons learned from its cyber investigations to boost its insider threat program.
Meanwhile, the organization is looking into expanding its IT workforce after securing funds to fill data analytics positions across its 56 field offices.
Adams noted that the FBI is working around challenges such as salary expectations to recruit more data scientists as the agency seeks to migrate its data to the cloud and streamline its data sharing operations.
He added that the agency is focusing on protecting its employees’ personally identifiable information as it leverages cloud services over the next few years.