Briefly noted: My older son, Jeff Jonas, is quoted in a front page article in today's Washington Post

My older son, Jeff Jonas, is one of several people interviewed in ”From Casinos to Counterrorism - Las Vegas Surveillance, U.S. Security Efforts Involve Similar Tactics,” published today in the Washington Post:

“A 43-year-old technology visionary and high-school dropout, Jonas … realized that his system could …identify employees colluding with gamblers, say, by discovering that they share a home address. He calls his program NORA -- for Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness….

“The idea was so powerful that the CIA's private investment arm, In-Q-Tel, poured more than $1 million into NORA to help root out corruption in federal agencies. Then, after the Sept. 11 attacks, it became clear that link analysis could be useful in tracking terrorist networks.

"In 2002, Jonas shared his technology with Pentagon officials, who were researching a more controversial technique called pattern-based data mining. Their aim was to identify terror networks from patterns of behavior, by plowing through vast beds of data such as hotel, flight and rental-car reservations. Jonas, now an IBM chief scientist, said narrowly focused link analysis is less invasive because it starts with a known suspect rather than casting about in the general population.”

(photo of Jeff from his blog)