- An audit has revealed deficiencies in you of the National Crime Agency.
- Almost 80% of the NCA’s budget is spent on inherited systems
- The NCA must address these weaknesses with comprehensive plans.
An independent audit of police surveillance, the HM inspection of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), has published a worrying report on IT systems of the National Agency of Crimes of the United Kingdom (NCA).
The report describes that “many of the IT systems on which it is based are outdated and not suitable for the purpose”, stating that the NCA is loaded with technical debt thanks to a continuous prioritization of rapid fixing repairs on more complete long -term solutions.
That is not all, since the report also recommends that the NCA improve its management sets in bulk data, since there are currently no data sets from any regional organized crimes units, and there are no plans to allow the NCA to perform a massive analysis of the data of the data service of the application of the law, despite the plans of the plans to replace the national computer in 2026.
A ten -year strategy
A significant limitation faced by the NCA, especially given the sensitive nature of much of the organization’s data, is the lack of adoption in the cloud;
“The NCA has also taken to completely adopt the benefits of cloud -based technology, which has adverse practical consequences. For example, staff cannot automatically transfer data between the computer systems that operate in each of the three levels of safety of the Government Security Classifications policy.”
Inherited systems that are still operated by the NCA mean greater maintenance costs, limited functionality and compatibility with other internal systems, greater training necessary for new personnel and the inability to completely exploit data sets from other obsolete systems.
There were 260 identified inherited systems, which have led to an amazing 80% of the IT budget of the organization spent in attending these obsolete systems.
The report concludes with nine general recommendations, including a ten -year development strategy to replace inherited IT systems, develop a plan to carry out a bulk data analysis of the data service data set for the application of the law, as well as adopt the framework of the Government Digital and Digital Data Capacity.
NCA’s DG Graeme Biggar confirmed Techradar Pro;
“We are taking extensive measures on the areas identified in the recommendations of the report, much of which was underway at the time of inspection. This includes a technological modernization program of the agency.”