How Do We Know What Information Sharing Is Really Worth Exploring Methodologies To Measure The Value Of Information Sharing And Fusion Efforts

The sharing of intelligence and law enforcement information is a central part of U.S. domestic security efforts, yet there are concerns about the effectiveness of information-sharing and fusion activities and their value relative to the public funds invested in them. This report lays out the challenges of evaluating information-sharing efforts that seek to achieve multiple goals simultaneously; reviews past evaluations of information-sharing programs; and lays out a path to improving the evaluation of such efforts.

The sharing of intelligence and law enforcement information is a central part of U.S. domestic security efforts, yet there are concerns about the effectiveness of information-sharing and fusion activities and their value relative to the public funds invested in them. This report lays out the challenges of evaluating information-sharing efforts that seek to achieve multiple goals simultaneously; reviews past evaluations of information-sharing programs; and lays out a path to improving the evaluation of such efforts.

Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents is a series that provides primary source documents and expert commentary on various topics relating to the worldwide effort to combat terrorism, as well as efforts by the United States and other nations to protect their national security interests. Volume 140, The Cyber Threat considers U.S. policy in relation to cybersecurity and cyberterrorism, and examines opposing views on cybersecurity and international law by nations such as Russia and China. The documents in this volume include testimony of FBI officials before Congressional committees, as well as detailed reports from the Strategic Studies Institute/U.S. Army War College Press and from the Congressional Research Service. The detailed studies in this volume tackling the core issues of cybersecurity and cyberterrorism include: Legality in Cyberspace; An Adversary View and Distinguishing Acts of War in Cyberspace; and Assessment Criteria, Policy Considerations, and Response Implications.

Counterterrorism/Homeland Security/Security Studies Contributors: Dr. John Arquilla • Jeffrey “Skunk” Baxter • Matt Begert • Dr. Stefan Brem • Michael Brooks • Dr. Robert J. Bunker • Rick Y. Byrum • Lisa J. Campbell • Irina A. Chindea • Dr. Martin van Creveld • James P. Denney • Matthew G. Devost • T. Kessara Eldridge • Adam Elkus • Dr. Fadi Essmaeel • Dr. Christopher Flaherty • Phillip W. Fouts • Dr. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross • Dr. Russell W. Glenn • Scott Gerwehr • Dr. Lester W. Grau • Thomas Greco • Dr. Daniel S. Gressang IV • Dr. Rohan Gunaratna • Dr. Thomas X. Hammes • Jennifer (Demmert) Hardwick • Daniel P. Heenan • Dr. Brian K. Houghton • Ali A. Jalali • Brian Michael Jenkins • Dr. Peter Katona • Hal Kempfer • Dr. David Kilcullen • James T. Kirkhope • Dr. Scott P. Layne • Ernest (Ernie) J. Lorelli • Dr. Prem Mahadevan • Paul M. Maniscalco • Kevin R. McCarthy • Jason Pate • William C. Patrick III • Ralph Peters • Dr. Raymond Picquet • Caitlin Poling • Byron Ramirez • John Robb • Dr. David Ronfeldt • Mitchell D. Silber • Dr. Joshua Sinai • Dr. Erroll G. Southers • Dr. John P. Sullivan • Michael Tanji • Dr. Gregory F. Treverton • Donald E. Vandergriff • G.I. Wilson

Given the challenges posed to the U.S. corrections sector, such as tightened budgets and increasingly complex populations under its charge, it is valuable to identify opportunities where changes in tools, practices, or approaches could improve performance. In this report, RAND researchers, with the help of a practitioner Corrections Advisory Panel, seek to map out an innovation agenda for the sector.

Assessing how technology contributes to information superiority and decision dominance a major challenge, in part because it demands quantitative measures for what are usually considered qualitative concepts. The authors have developed a mathematical framework to aid these efforts. Additional work, such as data fitting, experimentation, linking decisions and actions, historical analysis, and gaming will further advance knowledge in this area.

All U.S. agencies with counterterrorism programs that collect or "mine" personal data-such as phone records or Web sites visited-should be required to evaluate the programs' effectiveness, lawfulness, and impacts on privacy. A framework is offered that agencies can use to evaluate such information-based programs, both classified and unclassified. The book urges Congress to re-examine existing privacy law to assess how privacy can be protected in current and future programs and recommends that any individuals harmed by violations of privacy be given a meaningful form of redress. Two specific technologies are examined: data mining and behavioral surveillance. Regarding data mining, the book concludes that although these methods have been useful in the private sector for spotting consumer fraud, they are less helpful for counterterrorism because so little is known about what patterns indicate terrorist activity. Regarding behavioral surveillance in a counterterrorist context, the book concludes that although research and development on certain aspects of this topic are warranted, there is no scientific consensus on whether these techniques are ready for operational use at all in counterterrorism.