Analyzing Intelligence Data

Abstract

The IT boom of the 1990’s left many organizations and companies awash in data. With the popularity of the Internet, data sets were collected on virtually every topic, for every purpose, for every mouse-click, for every reason imaginable. Often, multiple databases or huge data warehouses were built to store these immense quantities of data. Although billions of dollars are spent every year to collect and store information, data owners paradoxically often spend only pennies on analysis. What has been missing from the IT landscape is a way in which all of the data can be effectively analyzed - a way to connect-the-dots. Without a means to use and understand the data that has been collected, the owners of the data will never realize the potential benefits of these resources. This has already been evidenced with the events of 9/11 and the government’s limited effort to share, combine, analyze, and report on the pre- and post-indicators. This chapter discusses the next generation information sharing and analytical systems that are being created and deployed to overcome these issues to better address terrorism, money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and fraud investigations.