Analysts Scour 'Net for Signs of Emerging Threats

WASHINGTON - Somewhere in Georgetown, several dozen intelligence analysts are scouring the Internet looking for bird flu and other similar national security threats.

It's part of an effort to stay ahead of emerging threats, says Steve Nixon, acting director of Science and Technology for the Director of National Intelligence.

DNI's Open Source Conference is being held this week, and those in the intelligence community are sharing ideas to attract others.

Nixon says 36 analysts who speak scores of languages are using a computer program to "survey human disease as it spreads around the world."

The analysts are scouring Web pages looking for everything from school closures to work absenteeism to reports of birds dying off.

"By checking about a million pages a day on the Internet, we're able to track the early indications of disease as it spreads," Nixon says.

"You're not actually looking for the disease itself, you're looking for the signs of the disease."

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