Blab Tech
25th Anniversary of 9/11 Highlights Persistent Data Sharing Challenges in U.S. Security Agencies
When the United States gathered for memorial services and public programs on September 11, 2026, the nation not only reflected on the lives lost but also on a stubborn legacy: the structural barriers that still impede information sharing across federal, state, local, tribal, and private partners.
The problem has deep roots in the 9/11 Commission’s findings, which pinpointed intelligence coordination failures as a key factor in the attacks. Congress responded with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, creating the Information Sharing Environment (ISE). The ISE was meant to be a cross‑domain, whole‑of‑government framework that catalogues data, builds trust architectures, and automates discovery, with a Program Manager (PM‑ISE) empowered to plan, oversee, and manage the initiative.
Under that framework, agencies embraced a data‑first philosophy that treated sharing and safeguarding as complementary objectives. Guardrails were introduced to enable secure, efficient, and durable information exchange. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), these efforts yielded nearly $531 million in savings and led to the removal of terrorism‑related information sharing from the GAO’s High‑Risk List in 2017. GAO officials highlighted strong leadership commitment across federal, state, local, tribal, international, and private partners as a key driver.
However, a subsequent GAO review found that progress had stalled. Dedicated coordination, partner engagement, investment, and oversight had slipped. In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security and the International Association of Chiefs of Police convened a National Summit on Intelligence, where more than 100 frontline leaders warned that without active governance, cooperation had drifted.
A cornerstone of the ISE’s success has been the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). NIEM, an XML‑based framework that evolved into an OASIS Open Project, supplies a common vocabulary for data sharing across all levels of government and the private sector. The model has been adopted by 50 states and is employed by agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Its open‑source nature and collaborative governance have made it a key enabler for joint all‑domain command and control and other national security initiatives.
The author of the source material has held several pivotal positions that shaped these developments. As the Department of Justice’s Chief Enterprise Architect, he delivered NIEM to all 50 states. He later served as the Office of Management and Budget’s Federal Chief Architect and, for six years, as the Presidentially‑designated PM‑ISE and government‑wide lead for information sharing. In that role, he observed the friction that arises when domestic criminal intelligence must be bridged with foreign intelligence, noting cultural aversion and perceived risk as persistent obstacles.
The 25th anniversary also underscores the evolving threat landscape. Transnational crime, rapid advances in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and geopolitical conflict have accelerated the need for AI data readiness. The same structural barriers that impeded information sharing in the early 2000s now contribute to gaps in AI‑driven threat detection and response.
In the months after the anniversary, federal agencies have reaffirmed their commitment to the ISE and NIEM. The Department of Homeland Security announced plans to enhance cross‑domain solutions that secure data access across classified networks, while the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services has continued to expand its use of NIEM for criminal data exchange. Yet, the GAO’s latest review indicates that without sustained investment and oversight, the gains achieved in the mid‑2010s risk erosion.
The current situation is one of cautious optimism. Agencies recognize the value of the ISE and NIEM frameworks and are working to close the remaining gaps. Upcoming initiatives include the deployment of new cross‑domain technologies and the expansion of NIEM standards to support JSON and other data formats. The federal government remains focused on ensuring that the lessons of 9/11 translate into resilient, interoperable data sharing that can adapt to emerging threats.
The 25th anniversary serves both as a moment of remembrance and a call to action. It reminds policymakers that the structural barriers identified in the 9/11 Commission report persist, and that continued effort is required to maintain and strengthen the information sharing ecosystem that protects the nation.
The problem has deep roots in the 9/11 Commission’s findings, which pinpointed intelligence coordination failures as a key factor in the attacks. Congress responded with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, creating the Information Sharing Environment (ISE). The ISE was meant to be a cross‑domain, whole‑of‑government framework that catalogues data, builds trust architectures, and automates discovery, with a Program Manager (PM‑ISE) empowered to plan, oversee, and manage the initiative.
Under that framework, agencies embraced a data‑first philosophy that treated sharing and safeguarding as complementary objectives. Guardrails were introduced to enable secure, efficient, and durable information exchange. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), these efforts yielded nearly $531 million in savings and led to the removal of terrorism‑related information sharing from the GAO’s High‑Risk List in 2017. GAO officials highlighted strong leadership commitment across federal, state, local, tribal, international, and private partners as a key driver.
However, a subsequent GAO review found that progress had stalled. Dedicated coordination, partner engagement, investment, and oversight had slipped. In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security and the International Association of Chiefs of Police convened a National Summit on Intelligence, where more than 100 frontline leaders warned that without active governance, cooperation had drifted.
A cornerstone of the ISE’s success has been the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). NIEM, an XML‑based framework that evolved into an OASIS Open Project, supplies a common vocabulary for data sharing across all levels of government and the private sector. The model has been adopted by 50 states and is employed by agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Its open‑source nature and collaborative governance have made it a key enabler for joint all‑domain command and control and other national security initiatives.
The author of the source material has held several pivotal positions that shaped these developments. As the Department of Justice’s Chief Enterprise Architect, he delivered NIEM to all 50 states. He later served as the Office of Management and Budget’s Federal Chief Architect and, for six years, as the Presidentially‑designated PM‑ISE and government‑wide lead for information sharing. In that role, he observed the friction that arises when domestic criminal intelligence must be bridged with foreign intelligence, noting cultural aversion and perceived risk as persistent obstacles.
The 25th anniversary also underscores the evolving threat landscape. Transnational crime, rapid advances in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and geopolitical conflict have accelerated the need for AI data readiness. The same structural barriers that impeded information sharing in the early 2000s now contribute to gaps in AI‑driven threat detection and response.
In the months after the anniversary, federal agencies have reaffirmed their commitment to the ISE and NIEM. The Department of Homeland Security announced plans to enhance cross‑domain solutions that secure data access across classified networks, while the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services has continued to expand its use of NIEM for criminal data exchange. Yet, the GAO’s latest review indicates that without sustained investment and oversight, the gains achieved in the mid‑2010s risk erosion.
The current situation is one of cautious optimism. Agencies recognize the value of the ISE and NIEM frameworks and are working to close the remaining gaps. Upcoming initiatives include the deployment of new cross‑domain technologies and the expansion of NIEM standards to support JSON and other data formats. The federal government remains focused on ensuring that the lessons of 9/11 translate into resilient, interoperable data sharing that can adapt to emerging threats.
The 25th anniversary serves both as a moment of remembrance and a call to action. It reminds policymakers that the structural barriers identified in the 9/11 Commission report persist, and that continued effort is required to maintain and strengthen the information sharing ecosystem that protects the nation.
