Intelligence and security informatics: information systems perspective

摘要

The scientific, engineering, and health communities are increasingly committed to helping the U.S. and the world respond to security challenges after September 11, 2001. The U.S. National Research Council's report on "Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism" explains the context of such a commitment: Terrorism is a serious threat to the security of the United States and indeed the world. The vulnerability of societies to terrorist attacks results in part from the proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction, but it also is a consequence of the highly efficient and interconnected systems that we rely on for key services such as transportation, information, energy, and health care. The efficient functioning of these systems reflects great technological achievements of the past century, but interconnectedness within and across systems also means that infrastructures are vulnerable to local disruptions, which could lead to widespread or catastrophic failures. As terrorists seek to exploit these vulnerabilities, it is fitting that we harness the nation's exceptional scientific and technological capabilities to counter terrorist threats.