SIU CIO, Tumelo Zwane

In a nutshell, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigates corruption and maladministration by government institutions. Its mandate is to root out any conduct and activities that harm the interests of the public, such as contracts being awarded illegally or state funds being mismanaged. For SIU CIO, Tumelo Zwane, getting this right means bringing in the right tools and technologies so that its teams of investigators can collect and store data securely and then analyse this information as part of their broader investigations.

The security component of her role is important given the type of data it’s dealing with. “At the SIU, we have the power to get access to cellphone, email and even financial records. So, we need to make sure that all this data is properly stored and managed.” This isn’t a simple task given that SIU investigators are often in the field. “If someone is working in Kuruman and their phone or laptop is stolen, whoever steals their device could access some very sensitive information.