A researcher working at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio has found a new use for an open-source algorithm, reports New Scientist in its December 1 issue. While the software was originally used to analyze the topics people talk about, researcher Gilbert Peterson and his colleagues have found a new use: <A HREF="http://www.cio.com/article/160107/E_Mail_Analysis_Snooping_in_Your_In_Box">snooping through company email.</A>

Author-Topic, developed by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, is essentially a data mining tool that chews on textual information. According to the article, Petersen has used the Author-Topic system to mine email data. By looking at what people write about and the manner in which they do so, Petersen says, the system flags them as possibly feeling alienated.