Big Data in Practice

24 PALANTIR How Big Data Is Used To Help The CIA And To Detect Bombs In Afghanistan

Background

Palantir, named after the magical stones in The Lord of The Rings used for spying, have made a name for themselves using Big Data to solve security problems ranging from fraud to terrorism. Their systems were developed with funding from the CIA and are widely used by the US Government and their security agencies. Their annual revenue is reported to be in the region of $500 million and they are forecasted to grow even larger – at the time of writing (January 2016) the company are tipped to go public with an IPO and are currently valued at $20 billion.

What Problem Is Big Data Helping To Solve?

Initially working on tools to spot fraudulent transactions made with credit cards, Palantir soon realized the same pattern-analysis methods could work for disrupting all forms of criminal activity, from terrorism to the international drug trade. Now, their sophisticated Big Data analytics technology is being used to crack down on crime and terrorism.

How Is Big Data Used In Practice?

Palantir build platforms that integrate and manage huge datasets, which can then be analysed by their wide range of clients – including government agencies and the financial and pharmaceutical industries.

Much of their work is naturally veiled in secrecy, but it is widely known that their routines for spotting patterns and anomalies in data which indicate suspicious or fraudulent activity are derived from technology ...