How The NSA Uses All Those Verizon Phone Records
Analyzing networks is a powerful tool in antiterrorism efforts. The article discusses how the Department of Defense maps terrorist networks in order to decide how to approach dismantling terrorist organizations. The first half of the article introduces basic concepts that we are learning about in class, specifically the concept of triadic closure in networks. Because of time and cost restrictions, monitoring suspects for prolonged periods of time in order to determine any connections was impractical. Instead, once suspects were identified, the government used phone records to look for contacts the two suspects had in common and started to build out a map of the conspiracy.
They then analyzed the connections and looked for any closed triads within the terrorist network. Looking to see who had the widest reach was also important because this person (the central node) was most likely a leader. After a leader was identified, they were targeted, so the terrorist network could be dismantled. This approach proved to be very successful in identifying terrorist leaders. While many people oppose the privacy breech that is associated with collecting big data, in the case of terrorism, it is definitely beneficial.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/06/07/how-the-nsa-uses-all-those-verizon-phone-records/#61e7558b269f