http://www.cio.com/feature/column.html?CID=22604&source=cioinsider
Ben Worthen
"The Bush administration’s view is that if a terrorist incident is one percent likely to occur, it should be treated as a certainty. That leads to potentially hasty adoption of technological approaches to counter such an incident. Should a business case be required before we launch into such controversial endeavors as data mining? Similar thinking has influenced the government’s use of data mining as the prevailing technology strategy for fighting terror. Instead of requiring data mining program leaders to develop a business case demonstrating a project’s value, agency heads approve these programs with the rationalization that if it has a chance—however remote—to catch a terrorist, then it is worth it—despite issues such as cost, project delays due to unlimited project scope and a clearly demonstrated public sensitivity to encroachments on civil liberties. [This in an excerpt from an article, which will be published in CIO magazine on Aug. 1, detailing the issues at stake in preventing terror with IT.]
