When it comes to defining Homeland Security through graphics, some serious illustrations may prove silly, and some silly illustrations may prove valid. While the 20 information graphics listed below all are stunning in their own way, not every piece is an award winner. But, the work may capture viewers’ attentions on topics that range from sabotage to immigration and from identity theft to the Libyan military.

Serious

1. Coalition Losses in Iraq: This information graphic illustrates the coalition forces military and police deaths during seven years of the US military presence in Iraq.
2. Crisis in Libya: Patrol Log provides a military information graphic that illustrates why Libya is the third largest North African country in terms of military spending, and where that money goes.
3. CyberThreat_US: This is a series presented by OhMyGov that explores the urgent cybersecurity issues that the US government faces. Between 2006-2009, the increase in reported cybersecurity incidents at civilian agencies increased by 400 percent.
4. Do You Know Who’s Watching You? This graphic provides information about the average Internet user’s lack of privacy. Focuses are on Facebook, Google and on telephone logs collected from the three largest phone companies.
5. Exposing Top Secret America: This graphic, brought to you by Visual Information, shows that “since Sept. 11, 2001, the US government has developed a scary dependency on private contractors hidden from public view.” The graphic pinpoints 1,271 government organizations in 2,163 locations and 1,931 private companies in 6,942 locations.
6. How Do Americans Feel About the Bin Laden Mission? A joint USA Today/Gallup poll asked the American public how they felt about the U.S. mission to kill elusive Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
7. How Much Does Identity Theft Cost? In this infographic, created by Sam Franada of Lines & Moodswings for KGBPeople and based on data from Wikipedia, the I.D. Theft Center and other sources, we learn that 10 percent of Americans have had their identities stolen, and on average, each of those individuals lost around $5,000.
8. Immigration Nation: How many illegal immigrants are in the US, where are they from, and how do they fit into this country’s economy?
9. Immigrants in Jail: More than half of all immigrants imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for immigration violations have not been convicted of a crime. This graphic shows how many immigrants are imprisoned and where they are held.
10. Life After September 11th: This information is more about commemorating this tragic event than about how life has changed since the death of over 3,000 Americans.
11. North Korea: Craziest country in the world: Yes, this is the correct category for this graphic, which shares information about North Korea’s military, its military spending, education and state of its human rights issue.
12. Organizational Chart of the House Democrats’ Health Plan: If you don’t think we can sabotage ourselves, take a look at this infographic prepared by the Republican Party. This image is stunning from a number of perspectives, and they all have to do with lack of simplicity. While the health plan may seem difficult, there is no need to muddy it up further with several different typefaces, lack of color coding and lack of differentiation between an organizational chart or a flow chart. If the Democrats had done this piece of work, we would have said the same thing.
13. Raytheon — World Leader in Air Traffic Management: This infographic shows how Raytheon commands over 60 percent of the world’s air space and has installed more all solids-state ATM radars than all other manufacturers combined. The map shows Raytheon locations, which are based in more than 50 countries.
14. Secure Communities? This information graphic tackles a controversial federal program that sends booking information from local jails to a joint database shared by the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).
15. The Hidden Side of the War On Terror: Originally produced by The Washington Post, this graphic shows the “meteoric growth of the spy industry.” The infographic supports a three-part series where Dana Priest and William M. Arkin argue that, since 9/11, the American government has built a top-secret security and intelligence network so vast and labyrinthine, it’s become impossible to manage, casting doubt on whether it’s actually doing what it’s supposed to do.
16. War Sprawl: A large infographic available to download by .zip file. Learn which private companies are involved in military development and spending, and how much they earn for their contract work. Lockheed Martin is listed at #1, with The Boeing Company in second place and Northrup Grumman Corporation in third.

Silly

1. 2010 Homeland Security Statistics From Airport Screenings: Not the most stunning information graphic around, but this is funny. Compared to zero terrorist plots discovered, airport screenings did reveal over 8,000 enlarged prostates and almost 60,000 breast implants.
2. Department Of Homeland Security Revises Threat Warnings: The traditional terror threat level now ranges from the lowest level of “unsubstantiated” to the highest “hysterical” level, with “exaggerated, fabricated and specious” thrown in for good measure.
3. Graphic Parodies: Safe Now brings strange graphics to light, with satirical interpretations. In one graphic for earthquakes, the interpretation goes: “If your building collapses, climb under your table and practice yoga postures.”
4. TSA Gone Wild: Currently, as a front line in the battle against terrorism escalates, “airport security is now the world’s creepiest voyeur.” This graphic showcases airport issues since 1931, with a jump from 1980’s War on Drugs to 9/11. The TSA has spent roughly $40 billion dollars on security.