Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) set out to apply the intelligence fusion center model to help authorities spot and track biological threats ranging from animal-borne disease to human pandemics and bioterrorism. The National Biosurveillance Integration Center’s (NBIC) establishment proved timely, as the H1N1 “swine” flu pandemic emerged just months later in Mexico and crossed into the United States.

The private security guard’s suspicions were raised immediately. On duty at the University of Toronto, the Reilly Security guard watched as a swarm of black-clad individuals got off a bus and entered a nearby building on campus. According to intelligence reports he had received, the individuals fit the description of the “Black Bloc,” typically anarchists who dress in all black and obscure their faces to preserve their anonymity and create the illusion ...