7 Ways Google Can Help Prevent Terrorism

After reflecting on the content of a Sunday morning political talk show, I’ve decided that Google can help prevent terrorism. Here’s what I’m thinking:

1. Google can help U.S. intelligence catalog a mountain of data. I’m a bit of a foreign policy junkie, and I happened to read Bob Baer’s CIA memoirs See No Evil. Baer had a lot of interesting points, but one that stuck with me is that U.S. intelligence is very much focused on data gathering. From ease-dropping on cell phone calls around the world to spy satellites to human intelligence to copies of text messages to reading emails via deep packet inspection, the NSA and CIA have a veritable MOUNTAIN of intelligence data.

According to Baer, this much data simply can’t be organized and evaluated. Evidence of this fact occurred just a few weeks ago. A young Nigerian tried to blow-up a U.S. airliner…despite the fact that U.S. intelligence had a warning from British intelligence AND the young man’s father. Imagine if there were some “U.S. Intelligence Search Engine” that allowed anyone with a security clearance to search for data on foreign nationals by name, by hometown, by political affiliation, etc.. Perhaps someone searching for “Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab” would have prevented this most recent attempt at terrorism.

2. Google’s AdWords system could be used to “flag” certain pieces of data. Following through on the idea that a US Intelligence Search Engine exists, a version of AdWords could be implemented that would allow individual agencies and analysts to “advertise” on certain search terms. When someone of particular interest was searched, a series of “ads” could appear that might suggest follow-up with a particular agency. Whomever was conducting the search would have access to raw data AND keyword targeted alerts.

What’s more, every agency could be given a limited “budget” in this faux keyword advertising system. That way, searchers wouldn’t be inundated with ads (exactly like Google’s existing system).

3. Google can help U.S. intelligence determine the trustworthiness of different intelligence items. Google’s search engine algorithm is all about establishing trust. Starting with a few assumptions about which websites are trustworthy, Google uses associations between websites (a.k.a. links) to figure out the most trustworthy sites on the internet. Over time, Google establishes a fairly consistent and accurate picture of the best of the best.

A similar system could be implemented in intelligence data. Starting with the assumption that some factual data is 100% trustworthy (i.e. intercepted messages, satellite photos, etc.), properly cataloged data could be evaluated for trust by comparing it to other data…the statements made by a human intelligence source could be verified and evaluated against factual data, and that evaluation could then be used to “score” the trustworthiness of an asset or a particular piece of information.

4. Google’s real-time search system can help identify imminent threats. Google does a decent job of showing up-to-date info when searched. When Michael Jackson died, Google managed to get the right results to the top of their list in just a few minutes. This same type of real-time ability could be used to move more recent data to the top of search results – especially when there are mutliple instances of the same piece of data.

5. Google’s image search technology would be handy at airports, U.S. embassys, and other important public areas. Google has a great system for cataloging, tagging, and searching images. In instances where a search for a particular name (such as “Jason Lancaster”) shows multiple yet differing results, it would be nice to reference an image search for that same name. Taking a look at a few pictures (and the relevant info for each image) would be useful for screening suspicious characters.

Google’s image search can also look for images with a similar appearance. With a little bit of effort, screening agents could upload images and then run a quick comparison with the images in the “U.S. Intel Search Engine” to see if there’s a match. This might be a good way to catch people using fake names, etc.

6. Google’s ability to deliver custom results would make analysis easier. Many people don’t realize that the U.S. intelligence community is comprised of dozens of different agencies, many of which have a different focus. The DEA, for example, works to find drug traffickers, whereas the CIA is likely focused mostly on preventing terrorism. U.S. Customs, on the other hand, has to be aware of both. If the U.S. Intel Search Engine was able to customize results, DEA personnel would see different info than CIA personnel because they’re focused on different missions. U.S. Customs might see a combination of both data results.

The idea is that searchers know what they’re looking for – by tracking their behavior and customizing results, you save the searcher time. That allows intelligence personnel to be more efficient.

7. Google’s method of refining their algorithm would all but guarantee success. Google does something incredible and almost unfathomable – they index every page on the Internet, evaluate all of that content for trustworthiness and importance, and then associate everything with a specific search on a real-time basis. If you know even a little about this process, you understand the task is incredible. Google’s search engine is truly a marvel of engineering.

In my mind, it’s even more amazing that Google gets a little better every day. Google is constantly tweaking and improving their search engine, and the result is a dominant product. They know what they’re doing. If this was appplied to intelligence analysis…who knows.

Final Thought: As inspired as I was to write this post, it is my sincerest hope that this relatively simple idea of mine is already in the works. If the U.S. intelligence community has their own classified search engine powered by Google, I think the chance that a piece of intelligence would “fall through the cracks” would be much lower.

Thoughts?