Part 2: Chase bank is under receivership

Below you will find links that will be able to explain different aspects of Chase Bank's recent events that led to it being placed under receivership.

There is a gentleman by the twitter handle Owahh who compiled Imperial bank's research analysis on what happened. You can be able to read the story here: Part 1, part 2, Part 3.

Also, Mwanwa has pointers 1-100 of what could have happened to chase bank. According to him, the analysis is based on the public  data provided by Chase Bank. You can go through his TL here

Certain questions such as why didn't the auditors see these issues, why did they not raise the alarm. To be able to understand auditors roles, Rookie, has outlined here

Bankele, also, has written a simplistic piece about Chase bank. The events that happened within 2 weeks, and the effect they had on Chase bank. You can be able to read that here

Smart police system and its eco-system- Published By CIO East Africa(August 2014)

Ever thought of reporting a crime? During the recent terror attacks in Kenya, specifically the Mpeketoni attack, twitter was the information hub providing details of the attack. “toa habari kwa polisi” boxes are irrelevant in this day and age where everything is going digital. There should be better ways to report crimes, for example a; USSD prompt, call, text, website link, twitter mention to the police monitoring center with these modes interconnected into the same system .

What happens after reporting a crime? Through the police helpdesk system, Level 1 support determines (after going through a checklist, i.e verifying the existence of the crime, its magnitude, the damage done) and sends a team to respond to the scene. If the nearest police station staff cannot contain it, it is escalated to level 2.This will enable Police units to be responsive and responsible for delays if they don’t keep the response time to a minimum.

It’s quite unfortunate in this technological era; police are unable to know in real time what’s happening on the ground, this could be counteracted through GIS techniques.

Cloud Collaborations will help link the Police Force and other institutions such as:

1.  Fire departments: The system should be able to alert the nearest firefighting company in case of a

(2) Health facilities: Response teams such as ambulances near the vicinity can be able to provide first aid as well as transport them to the nearest hospitals after an alert is issued,

(3) Other security units: security forces should be able to share information. It’s only after 9/11 that

United States security forces started sharing intelligence data among the different units.

Citizens should be able to view updates & changes through the knowledge management database. It’s important for the Police force to provide information to the citizens in order to avoid misinterpretations. The KM should have satellite GPRS mapped locations of police stations with their contact details. This will enable citizens to be vigilant and report crimes such as accidents since working phone lines are non-existent.

PPOA has recently authorized Safaricom to continue with the implementation of the CCTV security
project. A few questions arise, such as; how will they recognize a face? How will they know where one lives? What car one drives? There are a lot of things that need to be set up before the success of the project is determined. Below are some suggestions on what the government should do as they prepare for the success of the system.

 Updating of log books into KRA car registry whenever changes are made in such a way that if

one breaks a traffic offense they get a sms/email alert from the CCTV system

 If one’s ID/Passport /driver’s license is swiped into the system, it should be able to inform the

police about the existence of warrant of arrest exist as well as history of offenses charged for.

 Residential addresses, If KRA makes it mandatory for all land owners to register the residents on

their land, it will be easier to collect rental taxes as well as register and update the database in

case one moves.

All the data collected by the system can be used for business intelligence such as crime trends in

counties, as well as planning for future activities and security monitoring. The eco-system of the smart policing project needs a sufficient data repository for it to be “smart”. If the system is correctly
implemented, it will help solving some challenges that both citizens and police officers face to solve
crime related issues.

Happy Sys admin Day!!

System Administrator Appreciation Day, also known as Sysadmin Day, SysAdminDay, SAD or SAAD, is an annual event created by system administrator Ted Kekatos. The event exists to show appreciation for the work of sysadmins and other IT workers. It is celebrated on the last Friday in July.The first System Administrator Appreciation Day was celebrated on July 28, 2000.

What does a network administrator say when he gets back to home from work ?
There’s no place like 127.0.0.1!

exit $?

Finger Reader ring for the blind

(A model wears a FingerReader ring at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo Stephan Savoia)

Some of the Kenyan institution’s catering to the visually impaired use Dolphin pen as tool to enable them to interact with Technology. An example of the institutions is Kenyatta University that also provides Ipad and Ipods to enable the interaction. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing an audio reading device(a prototype produced by a 3-D printer) to be worn on the index finger of people whose vision is impaired, giving them affordable and immediate access to printed words in real time.

The FingerReader fits like a ring on the user’s finger, equipped with a small camera that scans text. A synthesized voice reads words aloud, quickly translating books, restaurant menus and other needed materials for daily living, especially away from home or the office.

Developing the gadget has taken three years of software coding, experimenting with various designs and working on feedback from a test group of visually impaired people. he FingerReader would not replace Braille — the system of raised dots that form words, interpreted by touch. Instead, Shilkrot said, the new device would enable users to access a vast number of books and other materials that are not currently available in Braille.

Video http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/fingerreader-read-blind-mit_n_5565898.html

(Source Huffing post)

"Toa habari kwa polisi" is still analogue.Its a web-chain of incompetence!

With the recent “terrosim”attacks in Kenya, and with vigilant citizens using social media to report cases of corruption, incidents and accidents, to different ministries am wondering how the Cabinet secretary of Information technology is doing to help in monitor and help citizens report in collaboration with the security cabinet secretaries. There are so many tools that corporates use to manage their brands online, having a twitter handle doesn’t not necessary mean that you will be able to see a tweet during an emergency.

Two weeks ago, I saw a policeman at the Railways stage receive a bribe from the conductor manning the stage.The bribe allowed the conductors to pick passengers along Haile Selassie Avenue.It was very unfortunate that, all of us in the matatus, the pedestrians, the ones waiting for the matatus all saw, and did nothing. Five minutes later, Two GSU officers, came out of nowhere and beat the hell out of a group conductors who had parked on the road causing traffic.

I would like to assume that there is something very wrong with our security forces, from high poaching levels, to westgate seige lasting days  and no one gets arrested, to nothing being done in the courts when most poachers, terrorists are arrested, they always come out on bail.Below are a few of proposed solutions that could help in monitoring and escalating problems from when they are reported and promote collaboration.

Proposed solutions:

·         Through Huduma center, the government can have a response team that manages the government’s CRM. The team could/should be able to use systems with high tech algorithms that are able to identify when people/person is need, and use grps from the Phone signal to locate them. This could be also be in line with satellite usage to view real time information on the ground.(Confirmation of signals could be done through anything, even a “smart fridge”) The system could also work like helpdesk systems, first line of “firefighting” if it advances what are the escalation procedures?

·         The government telephone reporting lines don’t work, PERIOD. Also, if I am in Garrisa, why should I call Nairobi? The devolved government should be able to help citizens by coming up with different lines for different counties. For example: 999-1 for Nairobi county, and 999-45 for Kajiado county making it’s easy to report as well as help in data mining of information that could help police come up with trends, future predictions, help in deployment of police etc.Lets assume there are people who saw the the minibuses in mkepetoni?How were they supposed to inform the police?

·         As citizens, we need to speak up, these small things that we see police force doing right in front of us is deafening. I wonder if the police on YouTube videos who were caught receiving bribes have been punished. Or even Nocturnal neighbors who never see throughout the year? Or suspicious foreigners using PSV vehicles and cannot communicate in any Kenyan Language? Citizens can only be vigilant if they are backed by the Government. What’s the point of speaking up if the government also does nothing?

With the Government going digital, we dont need the "Toa habari kwa polisi" boxes outside police stations.Neither do we need to release detainees out of no evidence in courts, yet they are wanted criminals all over the world! Its a web-chain of incompetence from ministries to security divisions, to courts, and back to citizens.

Zuia Noma, Chagua Amani!!

Uber's Strategy: Kenyan Perspective

Around January a friend on social Media posted that Uber is hiring for the Nairobi office.

Uber is an app that connects riders to drivers with the aim of making cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. I was actually surprised how they thought about opening an office in Kenya considering how Kenyans use Taxis.Most Kenyans use PSV (Matatus,buses and trains)Fares are subject to the weather, off peak and on peak hours as well as traffic on the roads as well as the distance to be covered.All these conditions are subject to change any day any time and do not wholly depend on one another.

Uber locations of existence are in towns with good infrastructure, laws and regulations and probably order.I read up a review of how users of Uber were disappointed when a cab came to pick them and they had hiked the fare due to the increased demand of the cabs at that particular time(Christmas Eve).In Kenya, fares change subject to nearly everything even a 1 Ksh change in petrol prices.

Nigeria, a country in West Africa, is the country where a homegrown app- Tranzit  is changing the Transport platform in the country.It has been named as one of the apps to look out for in Africa-2014 by Venture beat.Tranzit is a free web/mobile enabled transportation and delivery service that enables you to locate interesting, or required places and events based on your location. Its business model is one that will actually work for Africa where few have credit cards, its free, and offers more to the table as compared to Uber.

Here are some strategy questions I am still debating about in regards to Uber:

• what's Uber's strategy in Africa, where roads are PRO traffic :p ,poor road infrastructure(and at times people don't even know what street they are at O_ O) people nearly 90% use PSV. When people compare at times using a taxi to using a motorbike especially when one is in a hurry, or going to locations that PSV are prohibited?
• What changes are they going to make on their business model considering some of the changes are failing in India?
• How they are going to manage with the bad publicity due to the inelastic demand in the market?(Considering Kenya's social Media presence they might trend sooner rather than later)
• In Kenya for example people negotiate fares, wait for PSV vehicles to drop charges for them to board, how will they counter this?
• Most companies have a number of enlisted cab companies to use, where individuals have a *cab guy( This is whereby you have a number of a specific cab guy who you call when you need taxi services, and at times its on debt payable at the end of the month).How will this affect their business model?

Must have Business Apps in 2014

Lookout :

Features:
Security and Privacy: It acts as an anti-virus, protects the privacy of your device

Management: Keep all of your favorite Android, iOS and Kindle devices secure! Protect up to two devices with one Lookout account.
Missing device:

•     Instantly maps the location of your phone from any device with an internet browser and sound a loud alarm – even if your phone is on silent.
•     Signal Flare automatically saves your device'€™s last known location when your battery gets low, significantly improving your chances of finding your phone.
•     With Lock Cam you'€™ll know immediately if someone is attempting to access your phone. Get an email with the picture and location of anyone who enters an incorrect password five times into your Android lock screen.
•     If your device is in the wrong place at the wrong time, remotely lock it to block access to your personal data and post a custom message to get it back.If your device is gone for good, remotely wipe your device so your personal info doesn'€™t fall into the wrong hands.

Back-up:

•    Save a copy of your Google contacts in the cloud that you can download to your computer at any time.
•    Save your irreplaceable photos and call history to access them from any web browser. Premium features charges are $3 per month or $30 for a year for use on two Android smartphones

Free: available for iPhone, Android

Expensify –

Features:

• Clicking the SmartScan button will allow you to snap a picture of your receipt which will then be uploaded into your Expensify account.
• Click the expense button to add an expense on the go.
• The time button gives you the ability to add expenses that relate to time.
• The distance button allows you to create mileage expenses on the go.
• The trips section will automatically display trip information from any itineraries  
• The expenses page lists all expenses and receipts.

RingMindMe –You turn off your iPhone ringer for a meeting or a movie (that’s a good thing). Later, you miss calls because you forgot to turn your ringer back on (that’s a problem). RingMindMe is the solution

 CrowdCall – Conference calls made easy. It lets you launch conference calls simply by selecting members from your contact list and pressing “Call.” No PINs, no dial-in numbers.

  EasySign Mobile – Electronically sign documents. You won’t have to print out a form, sign it, and scan it back in. Just use your touchscreen to write your signature, size it, and place it electronically in any document

Appy Traveler – A photo and audio app, that does not allow files to be edited or changed in any way. You can record terrible travel experiences and have backup proof – photos with times and dates.