DHS Is Calling For Ways Of Improvement

DHS Is Calling For Ways Of Improvement

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a request for information, stating that it wants businesses to present it with their most cutting-edge social media analytics services next month. Particularly, DHS is looking for technology to strengthen its traveller screenings, criminal investigations, and situational awareness.

According to the request, DHS is looking for open source analytics tools that will help it make internal operations more efficient, reduce costs through “advanced analytic automation,” while employing “privacy, civil rights and civil liberties-protecting analytic methods.”

Potential companies can submit their applications until 9 February, 2016. They should submit descriptions of the analytics capabilities, including spoken language processing (English and other); image, keyword, and video analysis; geospatial processing; and more.

DHS intends to ask 30 “exemplars of social media analytics capabilities in the market place” to showcase their technologies that could assist analysts in finding patterns “in the context of homeland security investigative, screening and/or homeland security mission related situation awareness missions.”

These companies and groups will be invited to present on 26 February, 2016.

The request asks potential respondents to present how they  “protect the privacy, civil rights and civil liberties of individuals involved in open source and social media communications,” including details such as  “role based access to information, user audit, system logging, policy enforcing mechanisms, encryption, etc.”

The request for information was issued mere weeks after intelligence services were heavily criticised for overlooking the public messages of the San Bernadino shooter, that openly proclaimed support for ISIS.

Congress, also, criticised the DHS after it was revealed that the agency does not routinely screen potential migrants social media accounts for any suspicious activity.