Big Data And National Security

In light of last week’s tragic events in Paris and Beirut we begin to wonder how terrorists can get away with committing such horrible crimes and is there a way we can stop it? Is there a way to protect ourselves from terrorism other than using drones to bomb whole cities? Could we track these awful people and arrest them before any of their plans can be carried out?

Big Data may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about defending our country’s safety. but it may be more important than we think. We must remember that Big Data is essentially a lot of information- information on all of us. We are the ones who put our information out there for the world to see. We may not think anything of posting on Facebook about our vacation travels or what big event we are attending, but to the sick minded people out there we are basically telling them where and when we will be somewhere they can best attack.

Many people get angry about the fact that the government is tracking their information, but really it is for our own protection. The government is not listening in on your call for entertainment,  they are using machines to scan the information our there across the internet for patterns that may detect a possible dangerous outbreak. Whether it be the spread of disease or an angry protest group, the government is searching for clues to predict when these acts may happen and how to best prevent the worst from happening.

What if Big Data could help us spot terrorists living in our country before they could attack. There must be a way to find the connections the link  individuals to terrorist groups. This would allow homeland security to track down these individuals and get them into custody before any damage is done. To be able to shut down terrorist groups before they even act would be the best way to prevent terrorism, not by bombing cities that are also home to innocent people.

As for now we can only hope that the information we put out there is being used for good and that the government is using Big Data to its fullest potential to prevent distastes from happening. Check out other articles on Big Data and Security by CLICKING HERE!