Network detection theory

Abstract

Despite the breadth of modern network theory, it can be difficult to apply its results to the task of uncovering terrorist networks: the most useful network analyses are often low-tech, link-following approaches. In the traditional military domain, detection theory has a long history of finding stealthy targets such as submarines. We demonstrate how the detection theory framework leads to a variety of network analysis questions. Some solutions to these leverage existing theory; others require novel techniques-but in each case the solutions contribute to a principled methodology for solving network detection problems. This endeavor is difficult, and the work here represents only a beginning. However, the required mathematics is interesting, being the synthesis of two fields with little common history. © 2009 Springer Vienna.