Mapping the risks: assessing homeland security implications of publicly available geospatial information

Preface......Page 4
Sponsor Guidance......Page 6
The RAND Corporation Quality Assurance Process......Page 8
Contents......Page 10
Figures......Page 14
Tables......Page 16
Summary......Page 18
Acknowledgments......Page 36
Abbreviations......Page 38
CHAPTER ONE Introduction......Page 42
Assessing the Homeland Security Implication of Geospatial Information......Page 44
Public Access to Geospatial Information......Page 47
Research Objectives......Page 49
Demand-Side Methodology......Page 51
Supply-Side Methodology......Page 52
Need for an Analytical Framework......Page 53
How the Report Is Organized......Page 55
CHAPTER TWO What Are the Attackers’ Key Information Needs?......Page 58
Methodology......Page 59
Defining the Threat Space......Page 60
The Attacker: Motivations, Strategies, and Modalities of Attack......Page 62
The Attacker’s Tool Box: Types of Weapons Considered......Page 63
A General Model of Attacker Information Needs......Page 65
Accessibility and Critical Sites......Page 68
How the Attacker Acquires the Necessary Information......Page 70
Harmonizing Objectives, Attack Modalities, and Information Requirements......Page 75
Lessons from Analysis of Attackers’ Information Demands......Page 78
Attackers Have Substantial Flexibility in Fulfilling Their Information Needs......Page 79
Summary......Page 80
CHAPTER THREE What Publicly Available Geospatial Information Is Significant to Potential Attackers’ Needs?......Page 82
Structured Survey Used to Identify Federal Geospatial Data Sources......Page 83
Availability of Nonfederal Geospatial Information......Page 89
Diverse Range of Nonfederal Geospatial Sources......Page 91
Nonfederal Geospatial Sources Derived from Federal Sources......Page 97
Assessing Whether Sources Contain Potentially Critical Site Information......Page 100
Assessing the Potential Significance of This Information......Page 104
Assessing Potential Usefulness of the Geospatial Information......Page 105
Assessing the Uniqueness of the Geospatial Information......Page 107
Assessing the Significance......Page 110
A Closer Examination of the Potentially Significant Federal Databases......Page 112
Case Studies Comparing Federal and Nonfederal Sources of Geospatial Information......Page 114
DOI Minerals Management Service: Houchin Offshore Mining Platform Case Study......Page 116
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory: Marcus Hook Facility Case Study......Page 124
Other Observations About Publicly Accessible Federal Geospatial Information......Page 128
Summary......Page 130
CHAPTER FOUR An Analytical Framework for Assessing the Homeland Security Implications of Publicly Accessible Geospatial Information......Page 134
Framework for Analysis: An Overview......Page 135
Framework for Analysis: Three Analytical Filters......Page 136
Filter 1: Assessing the Usefulness of Geospatial Information for Target Selection and Attack Planning......Page 137
Filter 2: Assessing the Uniqueness of Geospatial Information......Page 139
Filter 3: Weighing the Societal Benefits and Costs of Restricting Public Access to Geospatial Information......Page 140
Quantifying the Benefits of Public Access to Geospatial Information......Page 144
Illustrating the Framework......Page 146
Considerations in Restricting Public Access to Sensitive Data......Page 153
Long-Term Need for a More Comprehensive Model......Page 155
Summary......Page 160
“Demand” Analysis Findings......Page 162
“Supply” Analysis Findings......Page 164
Broader Implications......Page 165
General Recommendations......Page 168
Agency-Specific Recommendations......Page 169
APPENDIX A Federal Agencies Examined......Page 172
APPENDIX B Federal Geospatial Data Sources Identified......Page 176
APPENDIX C Detailed Examples of Geospatial Information Analyses......Page 212
APPENDIX D Overview of Critical U.S. Sites: Critical Infrastructure and Other Key Homeland Locations......Page 220
Bibliography......Page 232