SUMMARY
This summary a Database of suspected terrorists known as the terrorist watch list was created. Since its creation, the list has ballooned to 400,000 people, recorded as 1.1 million names and aliases, and is continuing to grow at a rate of 200,000 records each year.Information on the list is distributed to a wide range of government agency systems for use in efforts to deter or detect the movements of known or suspected terrorists. For example, Airlines use data supplied by the TSA system in their NoFly and Selected lists for pre-screening passengers, while the U.S. Customs and Border Protection system uses the watch list data to help screen travelers entering the United States. The State Department system screens applicants for visas to enter the United States and U.S. residents applying for passports.However, those government agencies populate their watch lists by performing wide sweeps of information gathered on travelers, using many misspellings and alternate variations of the names of suspected terrorists. This often leads to the inclusion of people who do not belong on watch lists, known as “false positives.” It also results in some people being listed multiple times under different spellings of their names. Many people are not belonging to terrorists finding that they are included on this list. Opposite some really terrorists are not be added to this watching list.
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS AND ANSWER:
1.)WHAT CONCEPT IN THIS CHAPTER ARE ILLUSTRATED IN THIS CASE?
- The main goal of FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) is to consolidate multiple databases into a single unified one. The second major concept which is taken from this chapter is to provide information which is needed to all the agencies by using data warehouses. Agencies can receive a data Marta subset of data that pertains to its precise task. The State Department screens applications for visas to enter the residents applying fro passport, while local law informant agencies use the FBI system to help with arrests, detentions, and other illegal justice activities. The third major concept is to manage data and resources effectively and efficiently. Rule for the data sharing, standardizing and classification has not been established by the information policy.Data administration seems to be poor for the availability, usability, integrity, and security of the data seems to be missing. With government regulations it would help increase the privacy, security, data quality, and compliance. To decrease the number of inconsistent record, records duplication and records that had unclear sources, data quality audits and data purification are greatly needed.
2.) WHY WAS THE CONSOLIDATED TERROR WATCH LIST CREATED? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE LIST?
- In 2003 Government announced the creation of a “Terrorist Screening Center” aimed at providing centralized access to a single, unified database of anti-terrorist information. Currently, a dozen so-called “terrorist screening center are maintained by nine federal agencies. To organize and standardize information about suspected terrorist between multiple government agencies into a single list, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, or TSC, was established. It is also established to enhance communications between agencies. Multiple agencies were maintaining separate lists and the these agencies lacked a consistent process to share relevant information about the individuals on each agency’s list. A database of suspected terrorist known as the terrorist watch list was born from these efforts in 2003 in response to criticisms that multiple agencies.
Benefits of consolidated terror watch list:
1. ) Classifying and organizing information.
2. ) Provided record by NCTC and FBI
3. ) Updating information with time
4. ) Distributing information properly
3.) DESCRIBE SOME OF THE WEAKNESS OF THE WATCH LIST. WHAT MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND TECHNOLOGY FACTORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE WEAKNESS?
- Management: policies for choice and removal are not standardized between legislative department. The size of the list is out of control it has grown to over 750,000 records since its creation and is continuing to grow at a rate of 200,000 records each years since 2004. However, obvious from the list. The watch list has drawn criticism because of its potential to support racial profiling and inequity.
Organization: Integrating 12 different database into one is a difficult process. Corresponding the knowledge of how someone is added to the list is difficult. On the other hand, for innocent people who are unnecessarily inconvenienced, the incapacity to ascertain how they came to be on the list is shocking. Criteria for addition on the list may be too minimum. The government agencies not have standard individuals to the list, performing modifications to information, and relying those changes to other governmental offices.
Technology: The poor quality of the records leads to erroneous data. The TSA needs to perform an intensive data quality checking and data cleansing to help match imperfect data in airline reservation systems with defective data on the watch lists. There is still more work to be done to integrate that list with those maintained by airlines, individual states, ad other localities using more information to distinguish individuals.
4.) HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE SYSTEM OF WATCH LISTS DESCRIBED IN THIS CASE STUDY? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
- To make the data reliable, correct and for security of the data the quality audit should be held on yearly basis. T remove many for the imperfections of the data the data cleansing software should be used. Standardize procedures for information and removal form the lists Information policies and data governance policies need to be developed. There should nor records duplication, inconsistent data there should not leave necessary data fields and the sources of data should be consistent. Such policies should use which match the watch lists of government and the individuals both.
5.) IF YOU WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TSC WATCH LIST DATABASE, WHAT STEPS WOULD YOU TAKE TO CORRECT SOME OF THESE WEAKNESS?
- The first step I would take to improve the list would be to have more research done on each name that the list includes. One of the main complaints of the list is that people are unsure of how a name gets added and why they are added. If there was a specific group of people whose job was to maintain the list we would be able to have more information show up when a name is found to be on the list to ensure that the person being screened in fact a terrorist and not a person with a similar name.
If this group was formed, they would also be responsible for removing unnecessary names on the list that create false positives for innocent passengers. The case study explained that many of the people who requested their name to get off the list are still waiting and face extra scrutiny every time they try and fly. Keeping these names on the list also increase its size and inefficiency.
6.) DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE TERROR WATCH LIST REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO INDIVIDUAL’S PRIVACY OR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS? WHY OR WHY NOT?
- I do not believe that the watch list represent a significant threat to an individual’s privacy or constitutional rights. I believe everyone has right to his own privacy. What an individual does is their choice. We give up a little of our privacy everyday with the decisions that we make it is our choice how much privacy we give up. As the list is concentrated on terrorist suspects if we are doing the right thing we should have no need to worry if our privacy is being invaded.
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