THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN SAFETY AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Information technology (IT) plays a critical role in many businesses and organization including safety and security management. Safety and Security Management focuses on the safety and security of people, organizations and public spaces. It meets a growing demand in the labour market especially in the micro finance bank for professionals who can formulate a clear view of safety and security requirements and keep a clear head when providing them.

Security is the degree of resistance to, or protection from, harm. It applies to any vulnerable and valuable asset, such as a person, dwelling, community, nation, or organization.

As noted by the Institute for Security and Open Methodologies (ISECOM) in the OSSTMM 3, security provides "a form of protection where a separation is created between the assets and the threat." These separations are generically called "controls," and sometimes include changes to the asset or the threat.

Safety is the state of being "safe" (from French sauf), the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. Safety can also be defined to be the control of recognized hazards to achieve an acceptable level of risk. This can take the form of being protected from the event or from exposure to something that causes health or economical losses. It can include protection of people or of possessions.

Discussions of safety often include mention of related terms. Security is such a term. With time the definitions between these two have often become interchanged, equated, and frequently appear juxtaposed in the same sentence.

Safety is the condition of a “steady state” of an organization or place doing what it is supposed to do. “What it is supposed to do” is defined in terms of public codes and standards, associated architectural and engineering designs, corporate vision and mission statements, and operational plans and personnel policies. For any organization, place, or function, large or small, safety is a normative concept. It complies with situation-specific definitions of what is expected and acceptable.

Safety can be limited in relation to some guarantee or a standard of insurance to the quality and unharmful function of an object or organization. It is used in order to ensure that the object or organization will do only what it is meant to do.

It is important to realize that safety is relative. Eliminating all risk, if even possible, would be extremely difficult and very expensive. A safe situation is one where risks of injury or property damage are low and manageable.

In recent time, the use of information and technology in micro finance bank for safety and security has been on the high side due to the accelerated rate of insecurity in the banking sector using micro finance bank as a case study. This has helped to reduce robbing and attack in the bank. In most micro finance bank, the use of information and technology gadgets like security door, CCTV cameral has been used by the bank to checkmate both staff and customers of the bank to avoid abnormality in the banking sector.

With the help of information and technology in the micro finance bank, a computerized and a secured database is normally use to secure the information of both the bank and customers from malicious attack. This has help to enhance the security and safety of the microfinance bank with the application of information and communication technology.

Microfinance is a source of financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses lacking access to banking and related services. The two main mechanisms for the delivery of financial services to such clients are: (1) relationship-based banking for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses; and (2) group-based models, where several entrepreneurs come together to apply for loans and other services as a group. In some regions, for example most microfinance banks are used to describe the supply of financial services to low-income employees, which is closer to the retail finance model prevalent in mainstream banking.

1.1     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) operate in the same environment as the universal banks, but it is so obvious that the safety and security management system of the bank was so poor due to the lack of information and communication system. Before now, the microfinance institution was managing their system without the use of information system such as computer, internet (online), CCTV cameras etc, and this has made the entire system in the institution to be slow, in secured and prone to free access to information.

Below are some of the problems associated with lack of information and communication technology for safety and security management in the microfinance institution.

1.     Information of customers were manually kept in a file

2.     Account of customers were operated manually using ledgers

3.     Information about customers were exposed because most of the files with which account were created for loan processing were kept in the shelf and people can easily access it.

4.     There was misplacement of files

5.     It was difficult to monitor the people entering the bank because of lack of computerized door (Security door)

6.     Staff were not being monitor from a designated or control room due to lack of CCTV cameras

7.     There was lack of internet access for customers in other for them to access their account at the comfort of their home without  coming to the bank

1.2     AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The major aim of information and technology in the financial institution is to help secure and enhance service delivering to customers by ensuring that transactions is safe and secured. When this is done it will give room for more customers to bank with them.

This research work is aimed at the following

1.     To provide secured account information system by using a computerized banking operation as against the manual system

2.     Providing a password system were by customers can access their account using an ATM terminal with his or her password encrypted and not exposed to others.

3.     Providing a monitoring system within and outside the banking all for transaction.

4.     To provide a platform that can help to checkmate fraudulent transaction at any given point in time

1.3     SCOPE

The scope of this research work is limited to microfinance institution were by fun can easily be accessed and transaction can be safe and secured with the application of information and technology.

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.     How information and technology does affect the microfinance sector?

2.     Is the entire system of the financial institution safe and secure with the application of information technology?

3.     Can information and technology bring a lasting solution to the safety and security system of the institution?

1.5     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Information: Data that is (1) accurate and timely, (2) specific and organized for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and (4) can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.

Safety: Relative freedom from danger, risk, or threat of harm, injury, or loss to personnel and/or property, whether caused deliberately or by accident. See also security.

Security: The state of being free from danger or threat