Communications of the ACM
New Software Can Pinpoint Hate Groups' Radicalization Sites
New software can search mainstream websites, as well as the Dark Web, to help identify websites that espouse radical, terrorist ideologies encouraging people to cause harm.
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Researchers at the University of Connecticut (UConn) have developed software that searches mainstream websites and the Dark Web to help identify sites that contain radical, terrorist ideologies that encourage people to cause harm.
Although terrorist groups increasingly are using the Internet as a platform for the dissemination of radical, violent ideologies, many lone-wolf terrorists lack formal affiliation with a terror group, complicating traditional identification.
However, many such terrorists tend to write about their plans online, and UConn professor Ugochukwu Etudo, in conjunction with colleagues at Virginia Commonwealth University, developed a program that can quickly analyze these lone-wolf manuscripts.
Etudo says the software can cull examples and distinguish word sequences, negative tones, and implications of a worsening situation.
"A goal of this system is to make sense of radical, terrorist propaganda at scale," Etudo notes. "It can 'consume' massive amounts of information requiring far too much human effort."
From UConn Today
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