City preparations for the 2010 soccer spectacular include a comprehensive risk management audit THE CITY of Johannesburg will soon conduct an ICT risk management security audit to accurately determine how ready it is to deliver on its contractual obligations to Fifa and the 2010 Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee, Imvula Risk Management MD Patrick Ronan says. Aspects that will be verified include the physical protection of the city`s ICT infrastructure, network, server, data and application security as well as disaster recovery, Ronan told last week`s ITWeb Connect IT: Joburg 2010 conference.

Nazira Cachalia, the city`s programme manager for safety, told delegates the city planned to ensure "a seamless, people friendly and incident-free safety and security environment during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup". She did not elaborate, other than stating that the strategy was based on proven risk management principles, would be meticulously planned and timed and supported by world-class training programmes and would be "provided with every possible resource" in order to leave a lasting legacy.

Other than supporting safety and security in the city generally and at the stadiums and fan parks during the two events, the local authority would also play a role in supporting the FIFA rights protection programme. "FIFA is a business," says Ronan, "it has rights that need protection", including its own trademarks and that of sponsors.

Ronan notes the city will also have a major role to play in safeguarding VIPs and teams, which will include real-time tracking, as well as keeping undesirable elements, typically football hooligans, away from venues. This will require a secured interface between, for example, the tournament security office, immigration authorities, FIFA, police and the intelligence services. CCTV cameras will be mated with biometric face recognition software in and around host stadiums, primary transportation nodes and routes, accommodation, entertainment and tourist nodes, official practice and training facilities, FIFA sites and official parallel event venues, potentially making 2010 a misery for hooligans, vandals or anyone else the authorities might be seeking. It will also greatly ease access control to restricted areas, says Ronan. "The ability to track people will be very important, including the ability to cancel accreditation at the push of a button."