FBI taps veteran agent to head IT shop

The FBI named John S. Adams to serve as the executive assistant director of its Information and Technology Branch.

By faustasyan shutterstock  photo ID: 365684687 FBI HQ J EDGAR HOOVER building
 

The FBI's J. Edgar Hoover building in downtown Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Faustasyan/Shutterstock.com)

The FBI tapped John S. Adams to serve as the executive assistant director of its Information and Technology Branch.

The Information and Technology Branch is charged with overseeing and modernizing IT infrastructure and information sharing throughout the bureau and consists of three divisions: the IT Enterprise Services Division, the IT Applications and Data Division and the IT Infrastructure Division.

Adams, who most recently served as the assistant director of the Directorate of National Intelligence, is a 20-year veteran of the bureau.

Starting his career with the bureau in 1997, Adams has served in FBI's counterterrorism division, as well as in the Knoxville, Tenn., where he led a joint terrorism task force; Richmond, Va., where he led its national security branch; and in the Norfolk, Va., and Washington, D.C., offices. His portfolio has included investigating espionage, drug trafficking, violent crime and terrorism.

In his new role, Adams will succeed James Turgal, who left the FBI in October 2017.

Gordon Bitko currently serves as the bureau's CIO.

The move comes as the FBI considers adopting a new secure, large-scale cloud computing service to support roughly 50,000 users. Its $30 billion Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contact vehicle is set to expire this October.