- KICTANet - KICTANet

Kenya's new registry system
by wesley kiriinya 11 Jun '08

11 Jun '08

I got this from yesterday's Daily Nation on the web. Please read: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&am… I appreciate the problems this is trying to solve. My issues are: 1. Security and confidentiallity: Hackers LOVE these sort of systems. Personal Information of about 35 million Kenyans will be sitting on a server somewhere. And the public being able to access their information remotely. Some Pentagon computers (U.S Pentagon) have been hacked, and it's claimed it was done from China. There is also a country in Asia whose IT systems were crippled from an attack coz it's said they took down a statue that had a significant meaning for another country. This system needs the attention of National Security which I assume has a bunch of IT gurus. 2. Consultations: I'm not sure whether the wider ICT community has been consulted on this. If not then I'm worried that the gvmnt would take up such a project without at least letting as many Kenyans as possible know since it's their biometric and other personal information that might be stored in the system. From what I have read the decision seems to have already been made. 3. Integration with other systems: I've read that KEBS is reconstituting TCs (Technical Committees) and I think one of the TCs deals with exchange of information between systems. I'm guessing that at some point in the future this system might be intergrated with e.g. financial institutions. Will it integrate with already existing infrastructure and what happens when IT infrastructure changes? If this base/foundation has not been set up then how will the system stand. It's not difficult to see various IT conflicts that may arise in the years to come. Kenya should take its time to create standards (and use them!) which will determine what is accepted/rejected. For anyone who develops software on a medium to large scale you know the value of a proper architecture and design before actually programming the system ( and programming is usually less than 20% of total software development time). BTW: If you mix point 1 and 3 above then issues become even more comlplex. I think this is an interesting project and I'm not saying the particular system from that consortium has problems. I think there should be a proper document with technical details about this, and it should be released to the public for scrutiny. The document should details everything about the system and how it aims to solves the problems it's claiming to solve. Is there a country with this sort of system? If this newspaper article is all the public info available then one can't answer the question because one doesn't know exactly what the system will do and how it will do it.

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Schools adopt social business model to push IT
by Rebecca Wanjiku 11 Jun '08

11 Jun '08

Schools adopt social business model to push IT   http://www.computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/06/09/schools-adopt-social-bus… Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/

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Strathmore student wins Kenya Facebook challenge
by Rebecca Wanjiku 11 Jun '08

11 Jun '08

Strathmore student wins Kenya Facebook challenge   http://www.computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/06/09/strathmore-student-wins-… Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/

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Another lost side-mirror
by John Walubengo 11 Jun '08

11 Jun '08

Yesterday evening (6.30pm) i parked just outside the Hilton and lost my second side mirror within the year. Fine, i didnt tip the security guard but it was because he wasnt in site... Anyway, just wondering, with all this 'Butterfly' cameras and now 'HOTSPOTS' hovering above the City, why cant the Police take advantage of them and beef up security? I dont think we need to wait for the year 2030 or another multi-billion donor funded project for this to happen. I suspect there is still a HUGE disconnect between regular (r-)Government and electronic (e-)Government. May you have a safer evening tonite. walu.

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Re: [kictanet] KEBS Reconstituting IT Standards TCs (a resend)
by Gakuru , Alex 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

If you plan to get invloved, treat this message as a remonder to submit your documents directly to Kenya Bureau of Standards, as instructed. Commitee Application deadline nears. If you have already acted on it, please ignore this message. Regards, Alex PS:Attachments as per previous email On 5/28/08, Gakuru , Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Your attention is drawn to below > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Gakuru , Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> > Date: Thu, May 22, 2008 at 2:19 PM > Subject: KEBS Reconstituting IT Standards TCs > To: "skunkworks(a)my.co.ke" <skunkworks(a)my.co.ke>, ke-users < > ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net>, kictanet <kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> > > > /FYI > > [Some of cc'd mailing lists do not accept attachments thus their > subscribers may have to wait until their moderators permit the > bounce.--AlexG] > > --forwarded message-- > > Kenya Bureau of Standards is forming new TCs and reconstituting some that > are already in existence in the area of Information Technology and is > seeking membership from the Industry. The names of the TCs are the ones in > bold in the attached file labeled "scopes". (There is one TC on "Learning > Technologies" which I believe Ms Monicah Okoth will be contacting you to get > membership as well). > > Attached is a self explanatory letter which I have decided not to address > to specific persons but made it general so that you may distribute it to all > those interested as I may not be in a position to identify all the > interested parties. > > Kindly distribute it as soon as you get it since I would like us to observe > the set deadline for those interested to have filled and returned a *DULY > SIGNED FORM* either by email, fax, normal mail or any other convenient > method to us for processing. > > Kindly observe this deadline. > > Regards, > > > > *Mwatha Z I (Mr.)* > > *Kenya* *Bureau of Standards* > > *KEBS Centre, Kapiti Road, off Mombasa Road, Behind Bellevue Cinema* > > *P.O. Box 54974 — 00200 Nairobi, Kenya* > > *ISDN: +254 (0)20 6948270* > > *Tel: +254 (0)20 605490, 6948000, (0)722 202137* > > *Fax:+254 (0)20 609660, 604031* > > *Other E-Mail: info(a)kebs.org* > > *__________________________________________________________ ** > **"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." > - Eleanor Roosevelt* > > > > >

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DRAFT FINAL REPORT - E-WASTE MANAGEMENT PROJECT IN KENYA
by Evelyne Majale 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Dear all Also please find attached the draft final report of the E-waste management project in Kenya. Evelyne

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MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN KENYA - DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP
by Evelyne Majale 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Hi all This is to remind you about the Dissemination workshop - Management of Electronic Waste that will take place tomorrow 11/06/2008 at Jacaranda Hotel. The venue is Palm Room Time: 8.30 a.m. - 2.00 p.m. Please find attached the programme and presentations. Thanking you in advance. Evelyne

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Power outage - impact on packet flow
by Michuki Mwangi 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Hi all, Am curious to know if there was anyone who evaluated the impact on the flow of packets (voice/data) during the 5hour national power outage that happened recently. Some information on where we need to improve or be more prepared on would be useful to some. Regards, Michuki.

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Re: [kictanet] Another lost side mirror
by tyrus＠icsit.jkuat.ac.ke 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Pole sana Walu. I think it goes beyond just asking the cops to take advantage of this technology since I also strongly believe that a good fraction of crime can be curbed this way. How about a Government initiative to have technology infiltrate the most basic offices and arms of the Government? I mean, in as much as we might be debating on ICT for development, there's is a huge gap between having ideas floated about and no implementation. Tyrus Muya Kamau. Systems Administrator, eLearning Jomo Kenyatta University of Agri & Techology Kenya, Cell Phone: +254-721292936. Mail:tyrus@icsit.jkuat.ac.ke [DISCLAIMER] This message may contain confidential information and must not be copied, disclosed or used by anybody other than the intended recipient. If you have received this message in error, please notify us by e-mail (noreply(a)jkuat.ac.ke) and then delete the e-mail and any copies of it. E-mail may be susceptible to data corruption, interception and unauthorised amendment, and no liability is accepted for any such corruption, interception or amendment, or the consequences thereof. No liability or responsibility is accepted for viruses - it is your responsibility to scan

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Forget Credit Cards...Use MPesa to shop online
by Bill Kagai 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Sirs/Madams, A local software company [g360 Ltd] has developed an interesting piece of software which is able to complete online transactions. The process is simple. When money is sent via Mpesa, the sender receives a confirmation which details the sender's number, amount and receipt number. The software captures this information and stores it in a back-end database. The 'buyer' after sending the funds via Mpesa is then asked to key in the receipt number and his/her cell phone and submit the details. The software then compares the details and if they match it authorises the transaction. The developers of this software have put a demo page at http://www.mobilepay.i360microsystems.com and have identified Kictanet as a good niche that can preview the beta software and give comments before it is launched to the public. We are interested in comments on the *'online shopping process'* and *'legal implications'* for such transactions. PS1. This software conducts transactions using Mpesa but is not endorsed by Safaricom and neither do we act as Mpesa Agents. PS2. If you wish to receive a detailed presentation on how the software works, please email your request to per-erick(a)i360microsystems.com Thanks and looking forward to your valuable comments. -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Nairobi Stock Exchange Authorised Information Vendor Suite B2, Tetu Apartments, State House Avenue P. O. Box 20311 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete S - 1°17'13.8" E - 36°48'22.7" www.mediacorp.co.ke ---

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