Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework for Program Assessment
Committee on Technical and Privacy Dimensions of Information for Terrorism Prevention and Other National Goals, National Research Council
NAS Press | 2008 | ISBN: 0309124883 0309124891 9780309124898 | 377 pages | PDF | 2 MB
Two specific technologies are examined: data mining and behavioral surveillance. Regarding data mining, the book concludes that although these methods have been useful in the private sector for spotting consumer fraud, they are less helpful for counterterrorism because so little is known about what patterns indicate terrorist activity. Regarding behavioral surveillance in a counterterrorist context, the book concludes that although research and development on certain aspects of this topic are warranted, there is no scientific consensus on whether these techniques are ready for operational use at all in counterterrorism.