Supersmart, twenty-something Silicon Valley software geeks are helping intelligence agencies hunt terrorists in post-9/11 America.
One of the latest entrants in the government spy-service marketplace, Palantir Technologies has designed what intelligence analysts say is the most effective tool to investigate terror networks.
Palantir’s software has helped root out terrorist financing networks, revealed new trends in roadside bomb attacks and foiled a Pakistani suicide bombing plot on Western targets, say US officials. Palantir’s work with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Pentagon and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has expanded from eight pilot projects to over 50, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Australian government is a client, and now UK and India are eyeing Palantir. “We do work with US and her allies,” Shyam Sankar, director of business development at Palantir Technologies, told DNA.
Sankar, 27, a computer whiz from Cornell and Stanford University, was one of the first engineers to be hired by Palantir, which takes its name from the “all-seeing stones” in JRR Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings.” The firm has shown Indian officials how its software can be used by sleuths to chew through databases to unearth connections among suspects, money transfers, phone calls and attacks around the globe.
The software’s killer application is a user-friendly search tool that can scan multiple data sources at once for new clues to uncover and foil terror plots. “Certainly, we would do business with India. We have already demonstrated to the government the efficacy of the software in Kashmir,” said Sankar.
“We are talking to the Indian government. For me it is a little bit personal. My uncle was a victim of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. Anything to increase security would be a good thing. India is in a difficult situation asa there are lots of threats constantly coming at it from every border and even domestically. It is a real challenge and these threats are highly asymmetric — you don’t win them by just investing in hardware; you need to have an advantage which comes down to having the best software.”
Among the missed opportunities cited by post-9/11 investigations were the failure to see that five of the hijackers used the same phone number as well known Qaeda associate Mohammad Atta to book airline tickets, two used the same frequent-flier number, and five used two common addresses to make their reservations.
