Impact of Data Mining on Anti-Terror Operations and Surveillance Techniques

Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, told the BBC that the surveillance involved in foiling the plot to blow up trans-Atlantic planes had been "unprecedented". Officials haven't said if it involved data mining, but experts say that data mining can be a valuable tool in the war on terror if it is applied properly. The question is: Is it?

Data mining is a relatively new field within computer science. In the broadest sense, it combines statistical models, power