Illuminating dark networks : the study of clandestine groups and organizations / edited by Luke M. Gerdes.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gerdes, Luke M., 1977- editor.

Series:

Structural analysis in the social sciences ; 39.

Structural analysis in the social sciences ; 39

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terrorists--Identification.

Terrorists.

Terrorism--Technological innovations.

Terrorism.

Organized crime--Identification.

Organized crime.

Organized crime--Technological innovations.

System analysis.

Security, International.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 255 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Summary:

Some of the most important international security threats stem from terror groups, criminal enterprises, and other violent non-state actors (VNSAs). Because these groups are often structured as complex, dark networks, analysts have begun to use network science to study them. However, standard network tools were originally developed to examine companies, friendship groups, and other transparent networks. The inherently clandestine nature of dark networks dictates that conventional analytical tools do not always apply. Data on dark networks is incomplete, inaccurate, and often just difficult to find. Moreover, dark networks are often organized to undertake fundamentally different tasks than transparent networks, so resources and information may follow different paths through these two types of organizations. Given the distinctive characteristics of dark networks, unique tools and methods are needed to understand these structures. Illuminating Dark Networks explores the state of the art in methods to study and understand dark networks.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Series information; Title page; Copyright information; Table of contents; List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; Introduction; 1 Covert Network Analysis; I. Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Network Science; II. Exchange Networks; III. Conclusions; 2 Dark Dimensions; I. Two Existing Approaches to Dark Data; II. Defining Relationship Types; III. Data; IV. Quadratic Assignment Procedure; V. Spearman's Rho; VI. Conclusions; 3 Disrupting and Dismantling Dark Networks; I. The Role of Research and the Science of Dark Network Disruption

II. Strengths and Weaknesses of Dark NetworksIII. Simulation Studies: Dismantling Dark Networks by Targeting Hubs; IV. Actor-Level Characteristics Versus Centrality Scores; V. Network Dynamics and Adaptation; VI. Conclusions; 4 The Methodological Challenges of Extracting Dark Networks; I. Researching al-Muhajiroun; II. Network Text Analysis and AutoMap; III. Creating and Refining Thesauri; IV. Preliminary Analysis of Thesaurus; V. Refining the Thesaurus; VI. Improved Thesaurus, Better Results; VII. Conclusions

5 Detecting Dark Networks Using Geo-temporal and Pattern-Based Network Analysis TechniquesI. Framing the Problem: Geo-temporal Pattern Analysis; II. The Geohash; III. From Timehashes to Geotimehashes; IV. Data Capture and Processing: An Example; V. Broader Application; VI. Conclusions; 6 LookingGlass; I. Defining the Problem; II. Multi-Scale Modeling for Social Movements; III. LookingGlass Tools and Methods; A. Graphical Scaling Tool; B. Multilingual Topic Detection; C. Discriminative Perspective Mining; D. Response Tables of Social Movements; E. Rasch Modeling

F. Micro-level Analysis of Groups and IndividualsG. Data Collection; H. Perspective Analysis; I. Twitter Stream; J. User Classification; K. Chord Diagram; IV. Deploying LookingGlass; V. LookingGlass Use Scenarios; VI. Conclusions; 7 Open-Source Exploitation for Understanding Covert Networks; I. The Data: From Text to Networks; II. Lessons Learned: The Current Reality of Open Source Exploitation; A. Who Is Critical?; B. How Can Roles Be Assessed?; C. What Data Should Be Used?; D. What Scale Should Be Used?; E. When Is an Event Special?; F. How Many Sources Should Be Used?

G. How Can Forecasts Be Performed?H. Reuse: How Could These Technologies Be Used on a New Case?; III. Technical Challenges; IV. Conclusions; 8 Simulating and Analyzing Dark Networks; I. Bell's Subgroup Technique: Identifying Hidden Targets; II. Merkl's Dark Sampling Technique: A Bayesian Methodology to Simulate Network Evolution; III. Dark Sampling Implications for Subgroup Centrality; IV. Conclusions; 9 Criminal Social Network Intelligence Analysis with the GANG Software; I. System Design and Implementation; A. Determining Extent of Membership; B. Identifying Seed Sets

C. Identifying Ecosystems

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-36587-5

1-316-37187-5

1-316-37587-0

1-316-37787-3

1-316-37687-7

1-316-37487-4

1-316-37887-X

1-316-21263-7