Tools of Resilience

Using Information Technology to Enhance Campus Security and

Emergency Management

Art Botterell, Community Warning System Manager, Office of the Sheriff, Contra Costa County, California

A Shifting Landscape...

We long for “win-win” formulations...

A Shifting Landscape...

But frequently it's more like a balancing act...

The Balancing Act

Efficiency Resilience

Security Interests

PropertyPerson

Pro

cess

Security and Resilience

More than a Feeling

Security is both: “Freedom from risk or danger...” and

“Freedom from doubt, anxiety, or fear...”

Are they equivalent? Interchangeable? Security is never an absolute... expectation

management is part of the challenge.

Resilience

“The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune...”

Return to normal, or to a “new normal.” Continuity through transitions. Technology can be a force-multiplier... but it

can't provide resilience to people or organizations that lack it.

Challenge of the Long View

Low-frequency, high-impact events. Long intervals make events appear unique. Reactive incident management encourages

rushed, and frequently vendor-driven, designs... but what's the alternative?

Plan strategically, act occasionally.

“Large Trends”

Technology:

Intelligence moving toward the edge of the network

Change continues to accelerate

Connectivity is the default, info-sharing is the norm

Discovery utilities (e.g., search) defines fields of connectivity

“Large Trends”

Threats:

Systemic vulnerabilities due to increased economic and logistic coupling driven by near-term efficiencies (“normal accidents”)

“Lone wolf” bad actors, activated through electronic connectivity

Growing visibility of events, hazards, vulnerabilities

“Large Trends”

Population:

A Net Generation from birth

Accumulating effects of future shock on personal and group behaviors: Demands for “mass personalization,” various forms of rejectionism and self-chosen identity.

Increasing technical connection leads to new “communication problems.”

“Communications”

Technology

“Communications”

Procedure

Technology

“Communications”

Human Factors

Procedure

Technology

“Communications”

Human Factors

Organization

Procedure

Technology

“Communications”

Human Factors

Organization

Procedure

Technology

Problems (Perceived)

“Communications”

Human Factors

Organization

Procedure

Technology

Problems (Perceived)

Change

Technical Monoculture Considered Harmful

Uniformity is a Tempting Strategy Shortcut to Interoperability

Efficiency (that tradeoff again!)

Hazards of Monoculture Eggs in a single basket

Loss of flexibility

Brittle failure modes

Opportunity costs

Cultivating Rich Technology

Standardize Interfaces, not Products

Preserve Competition across Time

Future-Proof Design / Design for Change

“Skill-Set Half-Life” - Keeping up as an operating expense instead of an investment (value proposition!)

An Interoperability Standard

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)(OASIS / ITU x1303)

Single interface to multiple public alerting systems

GIS-based targeting

An Interoperability Standard

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)(OASIS / ITU x1303)

Single interface to multiple public alerting systems

GIS-based targeting

Templated message format

Maximize reach, consistency, provide corroboration

E Pluribus...

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

Unum!

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

WarningSystem

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)

Once We Have Sensors...

Situational Awareness

A shared and realistic understanding:

Level I – Recognition of objects, events and conditions.

Level II – Recognition of relationships among objects, events and conditions.

Level III – Projection of future locations, occurrences and trends.

(after Endsley)

Alerting and Public Communication

Ale

rtin

gInform

ing

Reassuring

Botterell's Laws of Emergency Management

1. Stress makes you stupid.

2. The problem is at the input.

3. No matter who you train in advance, somebody else will show up.

4. Expectation is reality.

5. The worst case is the easiest.