A Case Study On Terrorist Database Screening Information Technology Essay

A Case Study On Terrorist Database penetrateing Information engine room EssayintroductionWhen the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center, or TSC, was created following the 9-11 attacks, the goal was to unify data about suspected terrorists from different g everywherenment agencies into a wholeness tend. This was intended to enhance communication and decrease souring clock times. Subsets of the TSC agree enumerate, such as the No aerify leaning, were added to reduce the wait for airplane passengers by book bindinging only those who may be prevented from air live. However, several problems cod prompted questions regarding the choice and accuracy of the consolidated enumerate.For a security measure reliant on identification of dangerous individuals, a lack of info regarding the label of suspects is a key issue. Because the come may include duplicated divulge entries or terrorist aliases, obvious non-terrorists such as former Senator Ted Kennedy confound been subject to t ravel delays because of label that resemble those of suspected terrorists. According to the case study, a undivided name on the dip may have as many an(prenominal) as 50 duplicates. This contri thates to the over 750,000 records that make up the TSC surveil total. A major cause of name similarity or duplication is the process to be included on the contestation. Various authorities agencies perform sweeps of traveller information, utilizing misspellings and variations of terrorist name. This often consecrates to inclusion body of complimentary individuals who do non belong on the keep crush.Once an individual is on the contention, there is no quick earn to be removed. According to the case study, over 24,000 requests to be removed from the total have been made, including requests from innocent travelers. Only 54 percent have been immovcapable due to an extensive processing time of 40 days. The Department of mother country Security developed the Traveler Redress I nquiry Program to divine service innocents remove themselves from the list and reverse the extensive screening and questioning that results from world a traveler noned on the TSC honor list.Privacy and profile have also been concerns surrounding the cosmea and further development of the watch list. To improve the screening process and reduce instances of ludicrous inclusion, more expand and personal entropy would have to be gather about individuals on the list. This information may cause sensitivity and arctic issues and contri only ife to living criticism of the list because of its potential ability to promote discrimination. Some individuals on the list attest that they atomic number 18 marked on the list as suspected terrorists due to their race or ethnicity. However, without including private and sensitive data, the requirements for inclusion on the list ordain remain minimal and contribute to more sham positives.The TSC is working to improve data and data con cern procedures. amend communication between intelligence agencies in the future may greatly contribute to advances in the quality and accuracy of the list. But, as of now, the list stands as a major air travel security measure in spite of its flaws. According to the case study, Given the option between a list that tracks every potential terrorist at the cost of unnecessarily tracking whatever innocents, and a list that fails to track many terrorists in an effort to avoid tracking innocents, many would choose the list that tracked every terrorist patronage the drawbacks.BackgroundA compilation of information from various members served as the priming coat for this case study. Journalists from prominent publications internet sites such as The Wall thoroughfargon Journal, USA Today, CNN.com and Businessweek.com contributed to the creation of this case study through articles they wrote regarding the watch list. These articles, as well as those who wrote them, serve as the case st udy firm.depth psychologyThe TSC watch list has demonstrated a variety of strengths and weaknesses since its creation in 2003. Benefits of the list include safer air travel for passengers and reduced screening time, but this has come at the cost of inconveniences and cases of mis runn identity for many innocent travelers. Data redundancy and inconsistency have contributed to questioning of the lists accuracy and quality.A minimal lack of data and information has contributed to name duplication and erroneous inclusion of innocent travelers. In order to eliminate these false positives, or cases of mistaken identity, more information regarding each suspected terrorist on the list mustiness be gathered. However, attempts to gather this necessary information have take to outcries of privacy invasion issues which have in turn caused continual delays in data gathering processes. Individuals do not want to be inconvenienced by the accidental inclusion on the list that is the result of lac k of information, only they do not want to compromise private information to curb that they atomic number 18 not falsely named as a suspected terrorist. In this aspect, it seems as if there is no decent standard for the amount of data to include that is a balance of enough, but not too much, information about a particular individual.Another issue that may contribute to inaccuracy is a lack of communication among government agencies. Non-FBI agencies such as the medicate Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives do not view themselves as contributors to the watch list process, or they may disagree with what the FBI says constitutes terrorist activity. Some Department of justness offices access information that may be necessary to include on the watch list but neglect to share that information with the FBI. alter communication and coordination of sensitive and important information would greatly improve the quality and accuracy of t he list.The government has made significant improvements through the initial creation of the consolidated watch list, but this could be further improved upon by better counselling practices and a shared information dust. Creating a management team specifically to monitor the watch list and the information supplied by other government agencies would improve the quality of the watch list as well as communication with vital contributors. This group could also construe that innocents are not falsely included on the list. Combining the gathered data into communal information system would allow all the organizations who institute the watch list access to important data and would create a watchdog effect as well as increased safety measures.DiscussionWhat concepts in this chapter are illustrated in this case?The concepts from this chapter that the case uses are file organization, and problems with the traditional file format including redundancy and consistency, data management and sy stems to manage the data, and ensuring data quality.Why was the consolidated terror watch list created? What are the benefits of the list?The consolidated watch list was created to slow mickle the time of processing names in the computer. A No Fly list was created as a subset of the terrorist watch list to lessen the time passengers are waiting at airports by only screening those who are specifically not allowed to get on a plane. According to the article Director of Terrorist Watch propensity Says Government Has Technical Capability to Screen all Passengers Against Full List Before They Board Planes, by Fred Lucas of CNSNews.com, the No Fly list contains about 3,400 names, but the computers have the capability to screen the entire list if necessary. The article also states that about 14,000 names on the list are put in to another group that must have extra screening before the board an airplane.The benefits of a little list definitely decrease the time to look up names in the sy stem. With over 750,000 names, many of which are actually duplicated, shortening the list makes using it much more efficient. Some also believe that the criteria for get on the list may be too broad, and that shortening the list to include only the most necessary names to watch for will help decrease the amount of people who are mistaken as terrorists.Describe some of the weaknesses of the watch list. What management, organization, and technology factors are responsible for these weaknesses? unmatchable of the main weaknesses of the watch list is the lack of information associated with the names on the list. This problem has led to many people wrongly identified as terrorists, and duplicates of names. The case study said that one name may have up to 50 duplicates. The length of the list is also getting hourlong and longer, which may make it less effective.The case study explains that the organizations that play a role in developing the list need to have more consistent rules for w hat information is required to get a name on the watch list and understand what other groups need to know who has been added so that a name is not duplicated. The organizations need to work together by sharing information to decrease these duplicates and make the list more flesh out and informative for its users. The government could invest in some sort of ERP system that will update each organization when one name has been added to the list, so that each group can update the name with the known information about that specific terrorist.If you were responsible for the management of the TSC watch list database, what travel would you take to correct some of these weaknesses?The first step I would take to improve the list would be to have more investigate make on each name that the list includes. One of the main complaints of the list is that people are unsure of how a name gets added and why they are added. If there was a specific group of people whose job was to find the list we would be able to have more information represent up when a name is found to be on the list to ensure that the person being screened is in fact a terrorist and not a person with a similar name.If this group was formed, they would also be responsible for removing unnecessary names on the list that create false positives for innocent passengers. The case study explained that many of the people who requested their name to get off the list are still waiting and fountain extra scrutiny every time they try and fly. Keeping these names on the list also increase its size and inefficiency.Lastly I would invest more technology into updating and maintaining the list. I think that this quill will be extremely helpful for airlines and keeping the world safer from terrorist attacks, but it must be easier to use and more reliable to increase its potential. afterward the Christmas Day Bomber almost successfully detonated a bomb over Detroit while his plane was about to land, it is easy to see t hat we have a long way to go to protect ourselves from this treat.Do you believe that the watch list represents a significant threat to individuals privacy or perfect rights? Why or why not?Currently, I do not believe that this list is threatening to an individuals privacy or Constitutional rights. The list is too broad right now and doesnt include very much information about the suspected terrorists. However, if they decide to do more research when pulling the list together people may feel that the government is being more invasive. Even with this extra research however, I do not think that it violates their Constitutional rights. If people want to be able to fly safely all around the world, they will need to give up some of their privacy to do so.ConclusionThe Terrorist Watch List was created to monitor those flying on domestic and international flights after the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. Currently, the list is not very luxuriant and very long, creating many prob lems. These problems include duplications of names and false positives causing chevvy for passengers who are mistaken as terrorists. The list is also growing quickly which makes screening for names take longer and longer. The government agencies responsible for the list are also slow at removing false names.While this list is a great start to protect passengers while flying, there are still many advances that will need to be made. The names on the list need to have more details and research synonymous to them, and the agencies working with this list need to work together to cut down on duplicate information. They will also need to work on the length of the list, and sub-lists, to make sure that it is used effectively to prevent terrorist attacks.