16 DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com
security ecosystem
O
n October 22, 2014, a lone
gunman shot ceremonial
guard Corporal Nathan
Cirillo at the National War
Memorial in Ottawa. A few
minutes later, the gunman opened fire inside
the Centre Block on Parliament Hill. He
was gunned down before killing anyone else.
According to an Ontario Provincial Po-
lice (OPP) report released a few months
later, the RCMP missed an opportunity to
stop the gunman before he entered Parlia-
ment because a radioed warning of his ap-
proach came out garbled. This was one of
many deficiencies outlined in the report.
The OPP concluded that the shooting
was a "grim reminder that Canada is ill-
prepared to prevent and respond to such
attacks."
On September 30, 2017, a man rammed
and stabbed a police officer in Edmonton,
before plowing into four pedestrians with
a truck. The incident was evocative of the
deadly attacks committed with vehicles
earlier this year in London, Barcelona, and
elsewhere. These events have reinforced
the fact that the security threats facing
nations and the organizations protecting
them have become more complex and
dynamic than ever before. Global mega-
trends are only exacerbating these chal-
lenges.
To keep nations secure, governments
around the world must transform them-
selves to create more agile and effective
approaches to security. Nations need to be
taking a holistic, ecosystem approach to as-
sessing their capabilities.
The Security ecosystem
Every nation is protected by a broad array
of individuals and organizations that form
its national security ecosystem (SEAM).
This ecosystem consists of multiple func-
