INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM potx

[...]... reliant on information technology to communicate, to coordinate, and to share information in a prompt, reliable, and intelligible fashion Second, information awareness involves promoting a broad knowledge of critical information in the intelligence community to identify important patterns of behavior Advances in information fusion, which is the aggregation of data from multiple sources for the purpose... INTRODUCTION 1.1 What Is Terrorism?, 10 1.2 The Role of Information Technology in National Life and in Counterterrorism, 11 1.3 The Information Technology Infrastructure and Associated Risks, 12 2 TYPES OF THREATS ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE 2.1 Attack on IT as an Amplifier of a Physical Attack, 15 2.2 Other Possibilities for Attack Involving IT, 16 2.2.1 Attacks on the Internet,... damage 15 16 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM of a physical attack (e.g., by providing false information that drives people toward, rather than away from, the point of attack); diminution of timely responses to an attack (e.g., by interfering with communications systems of first responders); and heightened terror in the population through misinformation (e.g., by providing false information. .. Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C 1 2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM by smart, disciplined adversaries with ample resources (Of course, measures taken to defend against catastrophic terrorism will likely have application in defending against less sophisticated attackers.) THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY AND IN COUNTERTERRORISM. .. decision-support tools that can assist them in sorting, evaluating, filtering, and integrating information from a vast array of voice and data traffic • During an emergency, providing geographically sensitive public 6 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM information that is relevant to where people are (e.g., for evacuation purposes) is a challenging technical problem • Sensors deployed in an emergency... government: Position critical federal information systems as models for good security practices Remedy the failure of the market to account adequately for information security so that appropriate market pro-security mechanisms develop 4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM WHAT CAN BE DONE IN THE FUTURE Because the possible attacks on the nation’s IT infrastructure vary so widely, it is difficult to... disasters Three critical areas of research are information and network security, C3I systems for emergency response, and information fusion Although technology is central to these three areas, it is not the sole element of concern Research in these areas must be multidisciplinary, involving technologists, social scientists, and domain experts Since technology deployed for operational purposes is subject to... deployed for operational purposes is subject to the reality of implementation and use by humans, technology cannot be studied in isolation from how it is deployed and used Information and Network Security Research in information and network security is relevant to the nation’s counterterrorism efforts for several reasons IT attacks can amplify the impact of physical attacks and lessen the effectiveness... Possibility, Likelihood, and Impact, 24 xiii 10 15 xiv 3 CONTENTS INVESTING IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH 28 3.1 Information and Network Security, 31 3.1.1 Authentication, 33 3.1.2 Detection, 35 3.1.3 Containment, 37 3.1.4 Recovery, 40 3.1.5 Cross-cutting Issues in Information and Network Security Research, 41 3.2 Systems for Emergency Response, 46 3.2.1 Intra- and Interoperability, 47 3.2.2 Emergency... Steven Woo for research support, and D.C Drake for administrative support) for developing coherent drafts from scraps of e-mail and brief notes from committee meetings John L Hennessy, Chair David A Patterson, Vice Chair Committee on the Role of Information Technology in Responding to Terrorism Acknowledgment of Reviewers This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse . Terrorism?, 10 1.2 The Role of Information Technology in National Life and in Counterterrorism, 11 1.3 The Information Technology Infrastructure and Associated. less sophisticated attackers.) THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY AND IN COUNTERTERRORISM Information technology is essential to virtually all