Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists

A Framework for Program Assessment

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• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Year: 2008
• Edition: 0
• eBook ISBN:
  9780309124898
• Topic: History
• Index: History

All U.S. agencies with counterterrorism programs that collect or "e;mine"e; personal data -- such as phone records or Web sites visited -- should be required to evaluate the programs' effectiveness, lawfulness, and impacts on privacy. A framework is offered that agencies can use to evaluate such information-based programs, both classified and unclassified. The book urges Congress to re-examine existing privacy law to assess how privacy can be protected in current and future programs and recommends that any individuals harmed by violations of privacy be given a meaningful form of redress.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.

Table of contents

• FrontMatter
• Preface
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Contents
• Executive Summary
• 1 Scoping the Issue: Terrorism, Privacy, and Technology
• 2 A Framework for Evaluating Information-Based Programs to Fight Terrorism or Serve Other Important National Goals
• 3 Conclusions and Recommendations
• Appendixes
• Appendix A: Acronyms
• Appendix B: Terrorism and Terrorists
• Appendix C: Information and Information Technology
• Appendix D: The Life Cycle of Technology, Systems, and Programs
• Appendix E: Hypothetical and Illustrative Applications of the Framework to Various Scenarios
• Appendix F: Privacy-Related Law and Regulation: The State of the Law and Outstanding Issues
• Appendix G: The Jurisprudence of Privacy Law and the Need for Independent Oversight
• Appendix H: Data Mining and Information Fusion
• Appendix I: Illustrative Government Data Mining Programs and Activity
• Appendix J: The Total/Terrorist Information Awareness Program
• Appendix K: Behavioral-Surveillance Techniques and Technologies
• Appendix L: The Science and Technology of Privacy Protection
• Appendix M: Public Opinion Data on U.S. Attitudes Toward Government Counterterrorism Efforts
• Appendix N: Committee and Staff Biographical Information
• Appendix O: Meeting Participants and Other Contributors