To Data Mine or Not to Data Mine in the Fight Against Terrorism

The 2-day conference entitled Data Mining and Human Rights in the Fight Against Terrorism was held June 10-11, 2010 in Zurich. The organizers had previously conducted a study on data mining in the context of counter-terrorism, and this became the basis for the conference.

B-eye-network, by Dr. Ramon Barquin, August 24, 2010

Every nation in the world is well within its rights to use whatever legitimate tools they have at hand, including data mining, to protect its citizens from terrorism. That was at least the premise with which I approached and accepted the invitation to participate in a 2-day conference titled: Data Mining and Human Rights in the Fight Against Terrorism.

It was held in connection with DETECTER , a research project undertaken by the European Union focusing on the "ethical and legal ramifications of the use of various detection and surveillance technologies in counter-terrorist efforts." The project is being carried out by a consortium of seven European academic institutions and coordinated by the Centre for the Study of Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham, UK. I found the conference to be a fascinating and intellectually challenging exercise.

There was an interesting mix of participants in the event, including a handful of academics and participants from the U.S. The bulk of the attendees were Europeans representing the legal, law enforcement and intelligence communities and academic representatives from the universities and institutes involved. The academic contingent, interestingly enough, covered several disciplines including philosophy, ethics, public policy, IT and the law.

Organized by the research team from one of the participating partners, the University of Zurich, it was held June 10-11 in Zurich, Switzerland. The organizers had previously conducted a study on data mining in the context of counter-terrorism, and this became the basis for the conference.

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The different definitions can lead you in very different directions. For example, the Department of Homeland Security, in its 2009 report to Congress for FADMRA compliance (2009 Data Mining Report to Congress, Department of Homeland Security, December 2009), identifies three data mining systems within DHS that must be reported:

Automated Targeting System (ATS)
Data Analysis and Research for Trade Transparency System (DARTTS)
Freight Assessment System (FAS)

On the other hand, in the study carried out by DETECTER in their first attempt to inventory data mining systems in the U.S. and Europe, they identified over a dozen in DHS alone.

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