U.S. Marshals lose track of encrypted radios: WSJ report

The U.S. Marshals Service has lost track of about 2,000 encrypted two-way radios worth millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing internal records it had obtained through a public records request.
The paper reported that the problems date back to at least 2011, when the Marshals were deploying new versions of the radios to communicate in the field.
The Wall Street Journal said an internal technology office had warned about the issue, but the problems tracking the equipment persisted.
"It is apparent that negligence and incompetence has resulted in a grievous mismanagement of millions of dollars of USMS property," the paper quoted a 2011 presentation by the agency's Office of Strategic Technology as saying.
"Simply put, the entire system is broken and drastic measures need to be taken to address the issues ... The 800-pound elephant in the room needs to finally be acknowledged."
The U.S. Marshals Service serves to protect federal courts and judges. It also administers the witness protection program and tracks down fugitives.

http://news.yahoo.com/marshals-lose-track-encrypted-radios-wsj-report-012041934.html