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10 August 2012| last updated at 12:01PM

Swiss algorithm tracks crime, rumours, epidemics to source



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GENEVA: Scientists in Switzerland said on Friday they had devised software that can swiftly trace terror suspects, computer viruses, rumour-mongering and even infectious diseases back to their source.

 

“Using our method, we can find the source of all kinds of things  circulating in a network just by ’listening’ to a limited number of members of  that network,” said researcher Pedro Pinto of Lausanne’s Federal Polytechnic  (EPFL).
 
The programme, known as an algorithm, works by fast-tracking the route  taken by the information to arrive back at its original source.
 
A key factor is using the time at which the data is passed from sender to  recipient, to help investigators follow as the path as directly as possible and  eliminate false trails.
 
Publishing in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters, Pinto’s team  tested the algorithm on a known data maze to see if the tool could pinpoint the  individuals behind the September 11 attacks on the United States. 
 
“By reconstructing the message exchange inside the 9/11 terrorist network  extracted from publicly released news, our system spit out the names of three  potential suspects — one of whom was found to be the mastermind of the  attacks, according to the official enquiry,” he said.
 
Taking social networking sites as another example, Pinto said individuals  could use the algorithm to find out who had started a rumour posted to 500  contacts by looking at posts received by just 15 to 20 of them.
 
The same algorithm could be used to identify the origin of unwanted online  messages (spam) or a computer virus, said Pinto, post-doctorate researcher at  EPFL’s Laboratory for Audiovisual Communications.
 
The innovation can also be used to help epidemiologists, he said.
 
Pinto traced the source of a cholera outbreak in South Africa after  applying the formula to water and transport networks. 
 
The maths could also be harnessed by advertisers specialising in so-called  viral online marketing campaigns, while also making it easier to spot them in  advance, Pinto said. -- AFP

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