Information Awareness Office
![Information Awareness Office seal[1][2] (motto: lat. scientia est potentia – knowledge is power[3])](/Images/godic/202501/20/IAO-logo5214.png"){kind=logo}
![Diagram of Total Information Awareness system, taken from official (decommissioned) Information Awareness Office website (click to enlarge)](/Images/godic/202501/20/Total_Information_Awareness_--_system_diagram5215.gif")
![Diagram (from official IAO site) describing capabilities of the](/Images/godic/202501/20/Human-id-at-a-distance5215.gif")
![Diagram (from official IAO site) describing capabilities of the](/Images/godic/202501/20/Total_Information_Awareness_--_Communicator_diagram5215.gif")
The Information Awareness Office (IAO) was established by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in January 2002 to bring together several DARPA projects focused on applying surveillance and information technology to track and monitor terrorists and other asymmetric threats to U.S. national security by achieving "Total Information Awareness" (TIA).