[kictanet] Have we failed the nation yet again?

[Matunda Nyanchama]

Friends
 
Methinks ICT could really, really help in such a situation as happened in Westgate Mall, specifically with respect to preparedness. I am not privy to tools our intelligence and security organizations are using so this is not passing judgement. That said, for intelligence gathering, analysis, investigation, etc. ICT can really help.
 
Example: if we have a suspect and the person's phone number, we can do a whole lot with this: trace relationships from call data and how tightly coupled  (some tools measure the volume of calls between entities as a measure of this)  those relationships are. We can monitor, from the same data, their call locations and roaming habits. And each call they make could be a point of investigation perhaps leading to other suspects. Such information can be used to disrupt their networks and activities. 
 
Almost all public facilities have CCTV data. One asks whether anyone ever reviews this information for anything suspicious. My guess is this: the killers must have been at the mall some time earlier in a reconnaissance mission where they possibly mapped the place as part of their plan of attack. CCTV images, I believe could potentially show such suspicious activity despite the volume of people that frequent the mall. (BTW: many malls use such images to thwart pilfering and shoplifting; they could flag unusual activity as well if those that manage the service know what to look for.)
 
There is more: how much does the security for the mall share with state agencies such as the police/CID, NSIS, etc.? The need for seamless integration of information sharing, analysis and action is extremely pertinent. And I think ICT tools, applications and infrastructure can be core to  this as part of preparedness.
 
After the post election violence a commission suggested better use of ICT to gather, collate, analyze and act on information. I am not sure that the security agencies went out there seeking/designing a coherent plan that could avail information for their strategic decision-making. What seems to have taken centre-stage is CCTV, which is only a component of a continuum .... 
 
ICT can enable security agencies deploy their services more effectively and efficiently. Take urban and rural crime, the nature of those crimes and solutions thereof. It is possible that the kind of tactics you engage in either of those scenarios would be different. By gathering information and using that information appropriately one can be more particular/precise with an attach plan.
 
As we mourn the dead, let's try and learn from that experience and how we could have done better. The crime may be in our failure to learn from this experience for better action/response tomorrow.
 
Shukrani.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; mnyanchama at aganoconsulting.com
Agano Consulting Inc.;  http://www.aganoconsulting.com/; Twitter: nmatunda;  Skype: okiambe
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manage your ICT risks! We are the experts you need! The trusted partners you deserve!
Call: +1-888-587-1150 (Canada) +254-20-267-0743 (Kenya) or info at aganoconsulting.com
Licensed by Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The best revenge is massive success" - Frank Sinatra-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20130924/87f5eeda/attachment.htm>