Four out of Five IOM Staff are Using SCAAN... are You?

Picture the scene.

It’s a typical IOM conference in a hotel in a distant city. You walk into the elevator, press the button to go outside for some fresh air and after the elevator doors close, everything suddenly turns to black.   

You cannot even press the emergency button in the elevator as there is no electricity. You fend off a growing sense of panic and wonder how long you will be stuck in what now feels like a sauna suspended in midair that’s completely dark.

At this point, you pull out your phone intending to call someone nearby to assist. But there are no colleagues anywhere near and you don’t even have the hotel phone number.  

That is when you remember SCAAN and quickly press the ‘Not OK’ button on your phone. Within seconds, you receive a response from IOM’s Office of Staff Security 24/7 Operations Centre in Manila. You let them know your location and they immediately contact the hotel administration to alert them to the situation. You feel your stress levels decrease immediately, reassured that your organization and the hotel staff know exactly where you are and are getting help. 

This is not a mere anecdote, but a true story that happened to me last week. It was a reminder that when it comes to personal security, there is no knowing when or where any one of us will need help. While many IOM colleagues face more serious dangers in their daily work in emergency locations, personal security is a universal concern wherever you happen to be.  

What is SCAAN?

The Security Communications and Analysis Network (SCAAN) is the digital security umbrella that IOM provides to all staff. In addition to English, French and Spanish, SCAAN is now also available in Arabic. The app interface appears automatically in your phone’s default language which can be modified at any time in the ‘Settings’ menu on your device.
 
SCAAN is currently being used by over 9520 IOM staff in 153 countries. The SCAAN mobile app and global security platform provides real-time alerts on security incidents and digital headcounts in emergency situations. Will you be the 10,000th user in IOM? If you have not yet installed SCAAN on your mobile device, download it for free today on iOS or Android. 

Traveling soon?

Many IOM staff are traveling in the next few weeks, both for TDY and annual leave, as 2019 draws to a close and a new decade begins. As more than 9,520 staff in IOM already know, there is a new, simpler way to complete your TRIP request for security clearance before your next travels. The latest version of SCAAN app (3.12) now features an updated, easy-to-use interface available to all IOM staff with a TRIP profile under the ‘Travel Requests’ tab. Submitted requests are synchronized with the UNDSS TRIP system. Afterwards you will receive an update on status of your security clearance via email.

SCAAN is developed jointly by IOM's Office of Staff Security and Media and Communications Division in collaboration with CENTRIC, the research and innovation centre at Sheffield Hallam University (UK). It was adopted institutionally by IOM in July 2018.  

Installing SCAAN for the first time? Click here for a Guide to Install SCAAN on your Phone (Android & iOS).  

For additional questions about SCAAN, contact your mission’s security officer or email scaan@iom.int