Ed. Note: Five years ago, Tom Fox looked back on 9/11 in a 20-year retrospective. This week is the 25th anniversary of that event. We will be rerunning this award-winning podcast so we never forget.
On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, Tom Fox and guests look back on the tragic event and what it meant for them personally, as well as how it impacted the world of compliance. Today, Tom’s guest is Scott Moritz for this episode of Looking Back at 9/11, where Scott talks about how the events of 9/11 impacted the FBI.
How 9/11 Changed The FBI: Structural and Cultural Ambidexterity
9/11 fundamentally changed the FBI overnight. Scott remarks that for a long time after 9/11, the FBI was primarily focused on the attack on the Trade Center. That was the Bureau’s main investigation, and all FBI field offices and virtually every foreign attaché office in the world worked on it. Many scholars, through various organizational studies and surveys, assumed that the FBI would have created simultaneous frontline structures and processes to balance its two competing missions: national security and law enforcement. The scholars also posited that the FBI might engage in cultural ambidexterity by refusing to take on the national security mission altogether. The FBI did something altogether unexpected and tackled both.
The Benefit of One Agency
“There was this rapid emergence of two clear, but distinct, identities, and eventually, you know, one new unified identity: the FBI, but some changes were that terrorism cases were centralized at headquarters…This was a big departure from the way that the FBI normally operated,” Scott tells Tom. By staying a single agency, the FBI had better access to local law enforcement and could better leverage defendants for information that could advance the national security mission.
A Shift in the Private Sector
Tom asks Scott to talk about any changes in the private sector he was personally involved in. The major post-9/11 change in the private sector, especially for financial institutions, was the enactment of the Patriot Act, which also paved the way for other significant changes. Financial Institutions and broker-dealers had to harden the security of buildings and supply chains across the country’s infrastructure. There was also an explosion of no-fly lists, watch lists, and terrorist watch lists. Banks, building owners, and brokerage companies often had to navigate these systems quickly. Scott was heavily involved in helping these institutions meet their anti-money-laundering and security obligations.
Looking to the Future
Tom asks Scott to share reflections on 9/11 and the future. Scott remarks that after 9/11, the country was more united and people were more compassionate toward one another. The best of humanity in the form of kindness and outpouring of love was seen not just from Americans to each other, but from the rest of the world to America. He hopes he can see that kind of love and unity again someday.
Resources:
Scott Moritz | LinkedIn
