ABSTRACT
Up to this point, our discussions have focused on the positive role of Web mining. Web technologies and data mining can be used to improve efficiency, quality of data, marketing and sales, and much more. Furthermore, even in the case of information security problems, data mining tools could be used to detect abnormal behavior and intrusions in the system. Data mining also has many applications in detecting fraudulent behavior and insider threats. While all of these applications of the Web and data mining can benefit humans, there is also a dangerous side to these technologies, because they could pose serious threats to the privacy of individuals. This is the topic addressed in this chapter. Our discussion is very much influenced by the threats to privacy due to data mining. This is because data mining tools are available on the Web and even naïve users can apply these tools to extract information from the data stored on the Web and, consequently, violate the privacy of individuals. Furthermore, as we have stressed in this book, to carry out effective data mining and extract useful information for counter-terrorism, we need to gather all kinds of information about individuals. This information could be a serious threat to the individuals’ privacy and civil liberties.
