The identification and categorization of individuals and groups by their capacity and inclination to risky behavior or level of dangerousness is a vital component in the concept of national security. It has been and remains an essential function of security apparatus of the state as a political organization aiming the minimization of risks as a top organizational priority. Such practices have become even more important for facing threats of the globalized world such as international terrorism. International terrorism by nature and strategy differs dramatically from traditional for state threats and challenges its competence. Terrorist operatives deploy non-traditional tactical approach, motif, and objective. Consequently, the strategy of institutions fighting terror has become adaptive. In short period after 9/11 the institutions in the US begun prioritizing and shifting to pre-emptive and preventive strategies through surveillance and technology (White 2006). Technology, especially information and communication technologies are one of the main components of globalization that has interlinked and integrated activities in one common virtual space creating global information society. International terrorism and organized crime operate within this “technologically fluid global environment" (Bloss 2007: 209) creating both the necessity and the opportunity to pursue certainty about figures, strategies, and plans of the enemy. Such practices assume not only secrecy but also total inclusiveness. While from this perspective the government in the US as in any liberal democracy is constrained by “political, ideological and institutional factors” it has always been obvious, that in the face of intensive threats to their national security democratic governments “do not always measure up to their own stated ideals” (Rogerson and Milton 2013: 463). In this paper, I will address the consequences of technologization of security in the globalized world in terms of the US intelligence and counterterrorism efforts and examine its meaning for privacy and security from perspectives of both entities and subjects under the protection of the US constitution and those out of it.
