National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Counterterrorism:Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

Committee on the Role of Information Technology in Responding to Terrorism

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

John L. Hennessy, David A. Patterson, and Herbert S. Lin, Editors

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: This project was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for this final report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

The study from which this report is largely derived was supported by private funds from the National Academies. The additional work required to produce this report was supported by core funding from the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB). Core support for CSTB in this period was provided by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Department of Energy, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Library of Medicine, National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and the Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft corporations. Sponsors enable but do not influence CSTB’s work. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provide support for CSTB.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-08736-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003101593

Copies of this report are available from the
National Academies Press,
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 in the Washington metropolitan area. Internet, http://www.nap.edu.

Additional copies of this report are available in limited quantity from the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001. Call (202) 334-2605 or e-mail the CSTB at cstb@nas.edu.

Copyright 2003 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2003.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

COMMITTEE ON THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN RESPONDING TO TERRORISM

JOHN HENNESSY,

Stanford University,

Chair

DAVID A. PATTERSON,

University of California at Berkeley,

Vice Chair

STEVEN M. BELLOVIN,

AT&T Laboratories

W. EARL BOEBERT,

Sandia National Laboratories

DAVID BORTH,

Motorola Labs

WILLIAM F. BRINKMAN,

Lucent Technologies

(retired)

JOHN M. CIOFFI,

Stanford University

W. BRUCE CROFT,

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

WILLIAM P. CROWELL,

Cylink Inc.

JEFFREY M. JAFFE,

Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies

BUTLER W. LAMPSON,

Microsoft Corporation

EDWARD D. LAZOWSKA,

University of Washington

DAVID LIDDLE,

U.S. Venture Partners

TOM M. MITCHELL,

Carnegie Mellon University

DONALD NORMAN,

Northwestern University

JEANNETTE M. WING,

Carnegie Mellon University

Staff

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist and Study Director

STEVEN WOO, Program Officer

DAVID DRAKE, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD 2002-2003

DAVID D. CLARK,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Chair

ERIC BENHAMOU,

3Com Corporation

DAVID BORTH,

Motorola Labs

JOHN M. CIOFFI,

Stanford University

ELAINE COHEN,

University of Utah

W. BRUCE CROFT,

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

THOMAS E. DARCIE,

AT&T Labs Research

JOSEPH FARRELL,

University of California at Berkeley

JOAN FEIGENBAUM,

Yale University

HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA,

Stanford University

WENDY KELLOGG,

IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center

BUTLER W. LAMPSON,

Microsoft Corporation

DAVID LIDDLE,

U.S. Venture Partners

TOM M. MITCHELL,

Carnegie Mellon University

DAVID A. PATTERSON,

University of California at Berkeley

HENRY (HANK) PERRITT,

Chicago-Kent College of Law

DANIEL PIKE,

Classic Communications

ERIC SCHMIDT,

Google Inc.

FRED SCHNEIDER,

Cornell University

BURTON SMITH,

Cray Inc.

LEE SPROULL,

New York University

WILLIAM STEAD,

Vanderbilt University

JEANNETTE M. WING,

Carnegie Mellon University

Staff

MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Executive Director

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist

ALAN S. INOUYE, Senior Program Officer

JON EISENBERG, Senior Program Officer

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Program Officer

CYNTHIA A. PATTERSON, Program Officer

STEVEN WOO, Dissemination Officer

JANET BRISCOE, Administrative Officer

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial Associate

DAVID PADGHAM, Research Associate

KRISTEN BATCH, Research Associate

PHIL HILLIARD, Research Associate

MARGARET HUYNH, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

DAVID DRAKE, Senior Project Assistant

JANICE SABUDA, Senior Project Assistant

JENNIFER BISHOP, Senior Project Assistant

BRANDYE WILLIAMS, Staff Assistant

For more information on CSTB, see its Web site at <http://www.cstb.org>, write to CSTB, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001, call at (202) 334-2605, or e-mail at cstb@nas.edu.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

Preface

Immediately following the events of September 11, 2001, the National Academies (including the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council) offered its services to the nation to formulate a scientific and technological response to the challenges posed by emerging terrorist threats that would seek to inflict catastrophic damage on the nation’s people, its infrastructure, or its economy. Specifically, it supported a project that culminated in a report entitled Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism (The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.) that was released on June 25, 2002. That project, chaired by Lewis M. Branscomb and Richard D. Klausner, sought to identify current threats of catastrophic terrorism, understand the most likely vulnerabilities in the face of these threats, and identify highly lever-aged opportunities for contributions from science and technology to counterterrorism in both the near term and the long term.

Taking the material on information technology contained in Making the Nation Safer as a point of departure, the Committee on the Role of Information Technology in Responding to Terrorism, identical to the Panel on Information Technology that advised the Branscomb-Klausner committee, drew on sources, resources, and analysis unavailable to that committee during the preparation of its report. In addition, the present report contains material and elaborations that the Branscomb-Klausner committee did not have time to develop fully for the parent report. Both reports are aimed at spurring research in the science and technology com

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

munities to counter and respond to terrorist acts such as those experienced on September 11.

In addition to presenting material on information technology (IT), Making the Nation Safer includes chapters on nuclear and radiological threats, human and agricultural health systems, toxic chemicals and explosive materials, energy systems, transportation systems, cities and fixed infrastructure, and the response of people to terrorism. The present report focuses on IT—its role as part of the national infrastructure, suggested areas of research (information and network security, IT for emergency response, and information fusion), and the people and organizational aspects that are critical to the acceptance and use of the proposed solutions. Note that policy is not a primary focus of this report, although policy issues are addressed as needed to provide context for the research programs outlined here.

Information Technology for Counterterrorism draws on many past reports and studies of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB). These CSTB reports include Cybersecurity Today and Tomorrow: Pay Now or Pay Later; Computers at Risk: Safe Computing in the Information Age; Embedded, Everywhere: A Research Agenda for Networked Systems of Embedded Computers; Realizing the Potential of C4I: Fundamental Challenges; Information Technology Research for Crisis Management; and Computing and Communications in the Extreme, among others. Furthermore, the report leverages current CSTB studies on geospatial information, authentication technologies, critical infrastructure protection and the law, and privacy.

The Committee on the Role of Information Technology in Responding to Terrorism included current and past CSTB members as well as other external experts. The 16 committee members (see the appendix for committee and staff biographies) are experts in computer, information, Internet, and network security; computer and systems architecture; computer systems innovation, including interactive systems; national security and intelligence; telecommunications, including wireline and wireless; data mining and information fusion and management; machine learning and artificial intelligence; automated reasoning tools; information-processing technologies; information retrieval; networked, distributed, and high-performance systems; software; and human factors. To meet its charge, the committee met several times over a 2-month period and conducted extensive e-mail dialogue to discuss the report text.

As was the parent report, this focused report was developed quickly, with the intent of informing key decision makers with respect to the role of information technology in the homeland security effort. The treatment of any of the subjects in this report is far from comprehensive or exhaustive—instead, the report highlights those subject aspects that the committee deems critical at this time. Accordingly, the report builds on, and cites

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

heavily, prior CSTB reports that more substantially address the relevant issues.

The committee wishes to thank the CSTB staff (Herbert Lin as study director, 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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:

Edward Balkovich, The RAND Corporation,

Richard Baseil, The MITRE Corporation,

Jules A. Bellisio, Telcordia,

Tom Berson, Anagram Laboratories,

James Gray, Microsoft,

Daniel Huttenlocher, Cornell University,

Richard Kemmerer, University of California at Santa Barbara,

Keith Marill, New York University Bellevue Hospital Center,

William Press, Los Alamos National Laboratory,

Fred Schneider, Cornell University, and

Edward Wenk, University of Washington.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by R. Stephen Berry of the University of Chicago. Appointed by the NRC’s Report Review Committee, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board and the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×

3

 

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 Deployment of Communications Capacity,

 

55

   

3.2.3 Security of Rapidly Deployed Ad Hoc Networks,

 

57

   

3.2.4 Information-Management and Decision-Support Tools,

 

58

   

3.2.5 Communications with the Public During an Emergency,

 

59

   

3.2.6 Emergency Sensor Deployment,

 

60

   

3.2.7 Precise Location Identification,

 

61

   

3.2.8 Mapping the Physical Aspects of the Telecommunications Infrastructure,

 

62

   

3.2.9 Characterizing the Functionality of Regional Networks for Emergency Responders,

 

62

   

3.3 Information Fusion,

 

63

   

3.3.1 Data Mining,

 

68

   

3.3.2 Data Interoperability,

 

69

   

3.3.3 Natural Language Technologies,

 

69

   

3.3.4 Image and Video Processing,

 

70

   

3.3.5 Evidence Combination,

 

70

   

3.3.6 Interaction and Visualization,

 

71

   

3.4 Privacy and Confidentiality,

 

71

   

3.5 Other Important Technology Areas,

 

75

   

3.5.1 Robotics,

 

75

   

3.5.2 Sensors,

 

76

   

3.5.3 Simulation and Modeling,

 

78

   

3.6 People and Organizations,

 

80

   

3.6.1 Principles of Human-Centered Design,

 

81

   

3.6.2 Organizational Practices in IT-Enabled Companies and Agencies,

 

89

   

3.6.3 Dealing with Organizational Resistance to Interagency Cooperation,

 

91

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R12
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R13
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R14
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R15
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10640.
×
Page R16
Next: Executive Summary »
Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future Possibilities Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $44.00 Buy Ebook | $35.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Information technology (IT) is essential to virtually all of the nation’s critical infrastructures making them vulnerable by a terrorist attack on their IT system. An attack could be on the system itself or use the IT system to launch or exacerbate another type of attack. IT can also be used as a counterterrorism tool. The report concludes that the most devastating consequences of a terrorist attack would occur if it were on or used IT as part of a broader attack. The report presents two recommendations on what can be done in the short term to protect the nation’s communications and information systems and several recommendations about what can be done over the longer term. The report also notes the importance of considering how an IT system will be deployed to maximize protection against and usefulness in responding to attacks.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!