NYPOST.COM World News: DATA POURING IN FASTER THAN NSA CAN DECIPHER IT By GREG SEIGLE

[Karsten M. Self]

on Mon, Oct 01, 2001 at 07:28:56AM -0500, Jim Choate (ravage at ssz.com) wrote:
> http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/5334.htm

A suggestion I've made before in other circles:

   Open source the data.

There are clearly a few wrinkles to be worked out, but there are some
inflection points that can be used to define the task:

  - Open sources intelligence -- data gathered from publicly available
    data -- may be distributed without fear of compromising sources.

  - Court-of-law doctrines don't apply:  there's no need to tell the
    truth, the whole truth, or nothing but the truth.  Information can
    be selectively withheld.  Disinformation may be submitted.  Details
    may be distorted.  Scenarios may be projected for the purpose of
    analyzing possible outcomes.

  - Covert intelligence may also be selectively leaked, with or without
    intentional modifications and/or origin masking. 

  - The leaks need not be made under the auspices of the US (or allied)
    intelligence services, but could be injected anonymously or
    pseudonymously into existing discussions on Usenet, Webboards, 
    mailing lists, Internet indices such as Google, the press, or other
    channels.  

One of the natural problems is identifying *useful* discussion
forthcoming.  Some existing channels have meaningful ways  of
idnetifying useful or more meaningful content (proxies such as user
tracking, or direct measures such as moderation, preference indication,
or collaborative filtering).


One of the first discussions I had with a friend following the 9/11
attacks was the similarities between terrorist organization and the free
software movement:  decentralized operations which are difficult to
locate and/or isolate.  On reflection, I decided that the distinctions
were more meaningful.  One of the great strengths (and a frequent
criticism) of the free software community is that it is *so* open and
deliberative.  In particular, organized criticism or oposition often
finds itself buried under an onslaught of response.  Witness many
journalists with a Microsoft bent and their complaints of the seething
unwashed GNU/Linux hoards, or this past weekends conclusive denunciation
of W3C for proposing and promoting a highly free-software unfriendly
licensing policy.  By contrast, the opponents of free software must
communicate out of band, covertly.  

One of the advantages of the forces opposed to terrorism is that a very
large portion (though granted:  not all) of their communications can be
free and open.  This increases pathways of intelligence analysis and
discovery.

Worth considering?

Peace.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <kmself at ix.netcom.com>        http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
 What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?              Home of the brave
  http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/                    Land of the free
   Free Dmitry! Boycott Adobe! Repeal the DMCA!  http://www.freesklyarov.org
Geek for Hire                      http://kmself.home.netcom.com/resume.html
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