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Raj Kulkarni Fiber nation: Gorman�s US map (top) � drawn from public sources � depicts the most dense concentrations of fiber-optic networks as peaks connected by fiber cables. The map of San Diego (below) shows fiber density as shades of orange and the connecting cables as blue lines. The city�s street grid is yellow.
Sean Gorman knows where all the US fiber-optic cable is buried. He can fire up his digital map, then zoom in on a bank in Manhattan, drill down to a critical cable feeding a Nebraska nuclear power plant, and pinpoint the data lines serving a military installation in San Diego. No wonder the government wants to confiscate his dissertation.
For his doctorate in public policy, the George Mason University student set out to pinpoint the network's weaknesses in 2002. He mined public records, then used a series of algorithms to build fine-grained models. The result is the most comprehensive map of the nation's fiber-optic infrastructure – a network that handles Internet traffic, landline and mobile calls, military communication, financial transfers, air traffic control, and data transmissions to power grids and water systems.
Gorman, 29, is scheduled to defend his dissertation in January. But officials from the National Security Agency, the FBI, the CIA, and the Department of Homeland Security have said his project would be valuable to terrorists and should be classified as top secret – even Gorman himself wouldn't be allowed to read it. Former White House cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke suggested the work be burned.
So far, George Mason – which is eligible for research funding from the DHS – is cooperating with the government, keeping Gorman's work under wraps. Gorman believes his maps and analysis should be published, but only with the approval of the Feds. "The US university system is a great asset for developing technology," he says. "But it needs to work collaboratively with the government." In his case, there may not be much choice.
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| Why Your Next Phone Call May Be Online
| A Dissertation So Good It Might Be Classified
