Senate security will use Internet data mining to identify lawmaker threats

The Senate will conduct data mining of the Internet to identify potential threats against lawmakers, as well as offer Secret Service-led security training sessions for congressional staff.

The plans come in the wake of January's shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

"After the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, [the] media did a very good job of saying, 'They found this, they found this, they found this,'" Senate Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer said. "I and others have been saying, 'Are we missing something that would be a pointer as to people who are in need of intervention?'"

He said his office will issue a contract by July to perform data mining of the Internet and social networking sites in an effort to identify and assess threats before they become an issue.

The data mining will be driven by keywords, including lawmakers' names, and also by threatening terms such as "kill," "slash" and "shoot." Asked at what point comments would require further attention, Gainer said it would be depend on the situation.

Read more.