i2 Contact Tracing One Pager
- 1. Enhanced Contact Tracing (ECT) ECT was founded on an existing all source intelligence platform called the i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis (EIA) which is used worldwide by intelligence analysts to more effectively use their own proprietary data feeds and enrich with OSINT as analysts may choose. ECT takes a familiar intelligence process and applies it in a pandemic context, ultimately leveraging this existing solution to enhance pandemic analysis capabilities through data that clients independently source and manage pursuant to applicable laws and regulations. The ECT capability focuses on actions and potential exposure of individuals and is not to be confused with dashboard metrics or business intelligence applications. It enables analysts to use their proprietary data feeds and OSINT to identify unforeseen connections, patterns, anomalies and trends contained in the data being examined that are easily overlooked. ECT is designed specifically for the purposes of empowering analysts to identify critical answers of the questions being asked of the data. In essence, ECT enables analysts to become faster, more accurate and identify critical aspects in flattening the exposure cure, as explained below. – ECT can ingest structured and unstructured data, expediting analyst’s abilities to conduct a variety of pandemic analytical methods such as, geo-spatial, temporal, link analysis, and social network analysis. – The productivity of analysts’ speed and effectiveness may be significantly enhanced by reducing the amount of time spent reading and helping to collate information and produce pandemic related information products more rapidly and holistically. – Productivity and effectiveness can be increased by significantly reducing the amount of time spent reading and collating COVID-19 related information and producing pandemic intelligence related products. Using i2 to help fight disease with data Overview The concept of Enhanced Contact Tracing (ECT) is proposed to significantly enhance analysts’ capabilities of pandemic related analysis through the use of a cognitive solution developed by IBM and traditionally used in an all source intelligence capacity. ECT is the process by which the contacts of an individual who may have inadvertently relayed the COVID-19 virus may be rapidly identified to enable testing, diagnosis, treatment and/ or isolation as directed by relevant authorities. IBM respects privacy rights, and clients will independently source and review data to help track the COVID-19 virus in ways that are consistent with local laws and regulations. There is an immense amount of time and resources involved in the existing manual process of contact tracing analysis of exposed COVID-19 patients. The key challenge in this type of analysis is the ability to minimize the time and increase the accuracy of identification to flatten the exposure curve. Privacy Analysts, through ECT, are able to federate their queries of data; specifically, analysts are enabled “on demand” to query external data sources and bring back only the information needed that is connected to an active case. This is vitally important from a privacy perspective as the ECT targeted data request capability avoids the need for mass collection on individuals to perform analysis. (As a reminder, clients need to confirm that the use of ECT with their data sets is consistent with applicable laws and regulations.)
- 2. © Copyright IBM Corporation 2020. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and IBM Security, and IBM X-Force are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.html. Data Fusion A primary capability, which is essential to achieving success, is ECT’s capability of ingesting multiple disparate data sources which need to be fused together. Each data source poses its own complex positive and negative factors to include incomplete data at some level, which impacts ECT’s overall viability; however, the application of federated analysis of all the sources of data will help minimize the gaps in information. As doctors and scientists have stated, as more data becomes available, the need to analyze it and project future waves may become a matter of life and death. ECT includes technical solutions to ingest multiple forms of data and fuse it together (all pursuant to applicable permissions). Want More Information? Bob Thimsen Global i2 Tech Sales Leader, IBM Security thimsen@us.ibm.com | +1 919-215-5781 Jeremy Rodgers North America i2 Technical Practice Leader, IBM Security jerrod@us.ibm.com | +1 954-263-7428 Structured Data Structured data like spreadsheets and databases can be easily integrated into the solution either in real time or through a scheduled ETL ingestion process Unstructured Data Data that is in narrative form is automatically integrated into the solution, thereby saving time of having to read and build the entity relationships so the analytics process can start immediately Link Analysis Establishing links of those exposed becomes critical to preventing further exposure. The key question becomes - Now that a positive case has been identified, how far and wide is the exposure? Advanced Analysis Contact Tracing analysis may be used to answer important questions as referenced by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/ principles-contact-tracing.html) using advanced techniques like geospatial and temporal analysis. Outcome The project can result in significant improvement in the quality and productivity of the data analysis, enabling a more rapid response to the departmental stakeholders as they identify those at risk of COVID-19 transmission based on their contact with infected individuals. Using i2 to help fight disease with data