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| Home Front: WoT |
| U of A CS group amasses terrorist database |
| 2006-07-28 |
| Bigger than Thugburg even. University of Arizona computer scientists say they have quietly assembled the world's largest digital library of intelligence on extremist and terrorist organizations culled from the Web. Researchers hope the project, dubbed the "Dark Web," will give them insight into the evolution of terror activity on the Internet – a problem recognized long ago in international intelligence circles and by the U.S. government, but one that has become increasingly difficult to track. Many terror and extremist groups, foreign and domestic, have made the Web a primary source of communication by using sophisticated homepages and other online tools to spread their messages and lure new recruits. Three years ago, UA's Artificial Intelligence Lab created a virtual library that uses supercomputers to store of millions of Web pages, capture chatter on terrorist forums and copy videos showing gruesome attacks and executions. Although this is typically the domain of federal law enforcement, university researchers say their main goal is to perform long-term academic studies on terrorist and extremist groups to better understand their activity on the Web. The lab's director, Dr. Hsinchun Chen, said researchers have shared their data with the U.S. government, but he would not say which federal agencies were involved. "Even the people we talk to in the federal agencies are hampered by the amount of information that's being collected. They don't know how to analyze it," Chen said. "It's a new virtual battleground." The UA project is unique, Chen said, not only because of the volume of data, but also because of the different tools they use for analysis, including programs that find links between terror groups and similarities in writing styles in postings in chat rooms. The researchers, working with about 15 advanced UA students, analyze the linkage between Web sites using social network analysis. They also perform Web matrix analysis to measure the sophistication of terror sites, which often keep an Internet address for a short time, and then move to avoid detection. Chen said much of the research tries to answer these central questions: How are terror or extremist groups using the Web sites and for what purposes? Are they recruiting, fundraising or spreading their ideology? The UA computer scientists do not investigate specific terror groups, do not try to crack encoded messages or do any other contract work for the government that requires classified security clearances, he said. Instead, they focus on creating cutting-edge computer programming to make sense of the longer-term trends. "We provide the tools so the good guys get to do the right thing," he said. "It's very difficult to do this kind of research. They (the terrorists) are hiding. They're hiding in the dark side of the Web." See how much of this can be incorporated in Rantburg. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #14 Every time I've been to Tucson, it's been 110 degrees. In my motel room. Heh. Steve, yer a wuss! Seriously, try coming between mid-October to mid-April. Tucson has five seasons: a short fall, short winter (which no northerner would call winter), short spring, Blast Furnace (May-June) and Sauna (July-Sept.). BF & S may interleave. |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2006-07-28 23:46 |
| #13 Sea, I could arrange for travel to Tucson (though this isn't the best time) in exchange for a furniture slip hat. [wag] Seriously, My favorite (New) Mexican place is Poco and Mom's, but they are only open for breakfast and lunch, not dinner. They are definitely New Mexican rather than Sonoran or other "old" Mexican. I've been to Cattleman's a couple times and found the quality varies. Each time, I orderd the same drink, but one came in a glass twice the size of the other (it was full, too). I ordered the same cut of steak, but one was much tougher and gristlier than the other. This was only about 2 months apart. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-07-28 21:56 |
| #12 Sounds like he's from ASU. btw ........I checked for El Charro last time I was there ......I couldn't find it .......I thinkk De Grazia's Old Lady's property has ben renovated. |
| Posted by: Kleingum 2006-07-28 19:16 |
| #11 Sounds like he's a Deomcrat. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-07-28 18:40 |
| #10 Tucson's Arizona Daily Star, features a guest editorial this morning by an 18 year old Arab-American high school student. He praises Hezbullah to the heavens, while condemning the Israelis as pure evil. :(( |
| Posted by: borgboy 2006-07-28 17:37 |
| #9 Swamp Blondie: Is "The Cattleman's" still open in Tucson? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-07-28 17:34 |
| #8 Best news I've seen all day. If this comes to fruition, it turns off most of thier com net. We've already swept up all their verbal diatribes. Guess they're back to 7th century on com now. Notes on carrier pigeons. Just hope the pigeons come thru and shit all over everything. |
| Posted by: SOP35/Rat 2006-07-28 17:30 |
| #7 Every time I've been to Tucson, it's been 110 degrees. In my motel room. |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-07-28 16:49 |
| #6 good to see the Jackal back on guard... woof |
| Posted by: RD 2006-07-28 16:48 |
| #5 Sounds like Thugburg v3.0. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-07-28 16:32 |
| #4 If you do go to Tucson, stop at El Charro's. Birth place of the chimichanga and best Mexican restaurant anywhere. Try the carne seca. It's divine. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2006-07-28 14:57 |
| #3 Or a trip to Tuscon? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-07-28 14:45 |
| #2 Even better, can we get some of their grant money? |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-07-28 14:41 |
| #1 Better yet, see how much of Rantburg might be helpful to this project. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-07-28 14:34 |