Hack23

Hack23

About James Pether Sörling

Experienced technology professional with expertise in information security and delivery of secure cloud systems. Strong advocate for transparency in organizations and committed to ensuring the security and reliability of my open source projects through the use of industry best practices such as OpenSSF and CII Best Practices. James Pether Sörling, a security professional and open source contributor, gave a talk at Javaforum Göteborg where he discussed how to secure your development pipeline with static and dynamic application security tests, as well as software composition analysis using Sonarqube. In addition, Sörling was a guest on the Shift Left Like A Boss security podcast, where he discussed open source tools that can make high velocity development more secure. As an open source contributor for cfn-nag, which performs infrastructure as code (IaC) static analysis of AWS CloudFormation, he also wrote an open source module that integrates CFN-nag into SonarQube. Open source developer and founder of Hack23 Check out his OpenHub profile View his talks on GitHub Connect with him on LinkedIn Read his blog

Press Coverage

• Computer Sweden - This article highlights the innovative use of technology in revealing the activities of politicians. It features James Pether Sörling's work in leveraging data-driven insights to promote transparency in political processes.
• Riksdag och Departement - A Swedish publication that discusses the role of Citizen Intelligence Agency in monitoring politicians. It underscores James Pether Sörling's commitment to fostering accountability in politics through the strategic use of technology.
• Expressen - An opinion piece that addresses the issue of political absenteeism. It features a quote from James Pether Sörling, demonstrating his thought leadership in the field of political transparency and accountability.
• National Democratic Institute: Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement and Access to Information - A comprehensive survey report that underscores the importance of parliamentary monitoring organizations in Sweden. It acknowledges James Pether Sörling's significant contributions to these organizations, reinforcing his commitment to strengthening democratic processes.

Current Projects

Past Projects

• Citizen Intelligence Agency - A volunteer-driven, open-source intelligence (OSINT) project that provides a neutral and comprehensive dashboard focusing on political activity in Sweden. By monitoring key political figures and institutions, the platform offers valuable insights into financial performance, risk metrics, and political trends. Additionally, the dashboard features a ranking system, enabling users to objectively compare politicians based on performance. The Citizen Intelligence Agency seeks to encourage informed decision-making, enhance transparency in governance, and cultivate an engaged and well-informed citizenry. The initiative is independent and non-partisan, utilizing data, metadata, and charts related to the Swedish Parliament and government, encompassing parliament members, committees, documents, ballots, decisions, ministries, government members, and political parties.
  Features of the CIA Project These screenshots illustrate high-level dashboards, critical scoreboards, and detailed analytics, focusing on transparency, accountability, and decision-making in Sweden’s political landscape.
  The project relies on open data from various sources such as:
  • Swedish Parliament Open Data - Offers a wide range of data related to the Swedish Parliament, including members, committees, and documents.
  • Swedish Election Authority - Provides information on election processes, results, and political parties in Sweden.
  • World Bank Open Data - Contains global development data, including economic indicators and demographic information.
  • Swedish National Financial Management Authority (ESV) Public Sector Information (PSI) Data - Offers data on government finances, economic trends, and public sector operations in Sweden.
  Software Badges
  • 
  Explore our Citizen Intelligence Agency's Architecture Overview , where you can dive into the detailed structure of our project. This page provides a comprehensive look at our project's system context, its various components, and the deployment strategy. It also includes guides for developers and database administrators, making it a valuable resource for understanding the mechanics of our work.
• Citizen Intelligence Agency - Sweden Political Activity Dashboard

  The Citizen Intelligence Agency is a volunteer-driven, open-source intelligence (OSINT) project focusing on political activity in Sweden. By monitoring key political figures and institutions, the platform provides valuable insights into financial performance, risk metrics, and political trends. The dashboard features a ranking system, enabling users to objectively compare politicians based on performance. The initiative is independent and non-partisan, seeking to encourage informed decision-making, enhance transparency in governance, and cultivate an engaged and well-informed citizenry.

  This project is powered by advanced AI technologies like OpenAI for data processing and analysis. We use AI to process and analyze a large amount of data, and data visualization tools to represent the data in an easy-to-understand format.

• Sonar-CloudFormation-Plugin - A plugin for SonarQube that allows users to analyze CloudFormation templates written in YAML or JSON, developed in Java. The plugin uses the SonarQube API to perform code analysis on the templates and generate detailed reports on best practices, potential security issues, and other code quality metrics. The plugin integrates with cfn-nag and Checkov to provide additional security checks based on the CWE, NIST 800-53, and ISO 27001 standards.
• Lambda in Private VPC - The Lambda in Private VPC is a proof-of-concept (POC) that showcases a multi-region active/active site leveraging Resilience Hub policy compliance and runbooks. It facilitates rapid recovery from failures and ensures high availability.

  Learn more about AWS Resilience Hub concepts and understand the key terms and principles involved in building resilient applications at AWS Resilience Hub concepts .

  • DynamoDB Runbook - This runbook automates the management of DynamoDB tables and indexes.
  • Lambda Runbook - This runbook helps manage Lambda functions, layers, and aliases.
  • Application Bridge Runbook - This runbook supports the management of Amazon App Runner services and custom domains.
  • IAM Runbook - This runbook facilitates IAM user, group, role, and policy management.

Table of Contents

1. Dashboard and Scoreboard Views
2. Ministry Leaders and Insights
3. Government Body Insights
4. Party and Parliament Insights
5. Decision Flow and Risk Assessments
6. Committee Views
7. Country Rankings and Analysis
8. Politician Profiles and Analytics
9. Administrative Agency Views
10. Agent Operation Views
11. User Home and Personal Dashboards

Dashboard and Scoreboard Views

Central Monitoring Dashboard

This real-time monitoring dashboard offers visualizations of political activities, legislative decisions, and operational trends. It acts as a centralized hub for analysis.

Ministry Leadership Scorecard

A detailed evaluation of current ministry leaders focusing on efficiency, impact, and governance outcomes. This scorecard identifies top-performing leaders and opportunities for improvement.

Party Leadership Scorecard

A detailed evaluation of current party leaders focusing on efficiency, impact, and governance outcomes. This scorecard identifies top-performing leaders and opportunities for improvement.

Legislative Decision-Making

Maps out decision flows within parliamentary and committee structures, offering transparency into the legislative processes and outcomes:

• Recent Decision Flows: Visualizes decision-making patterns within parliament for the latest legislative activities.

• Historical Decision Flows (2016-17): Explores decision-making trends during the 2016-17 period, highlighting pathways and legislative milestones.

Main dashboard providing a high-level overview of the project's key features

Parliament Rankings Overview

An overview of parliamentary activities and rankings, highlighting key legislative performance metrics and enabling comparative insights.

Ministry Leaders and Insights

Leadership and Financial Metrics

Insights into current ministry leadership, responsibilities, and financial resource allocation:

• Leadership Overview: Highlights affiliations and governance roles.

• Expenditure and Revenue: Explores financial prioritization and funding sources.

• Headcount Rankings: Ranks ministries based on staffing levels for comparative analysis.

Government Body Insights

Roles, Income, and Accountability

Detailed insights into government body structures, funding, and operational responsibilities:

• Government Body Overview

• Income Analysis

• Expenditure and Revenue: Explores financial prioritization and funding sources.

Party and Parliament Insights

Political Party Profiles

An in-depth summary of a major political party's leadership structure and parliamentary dynamics.

Membership History

A historical overview of party membership trends, illustrating shifts in political alignment.

Decision Flow and Risk Assessments

Legislative Decision-Making

Maps out decision flows within parliamentary and committee structures, offering transparency into the legislative processes and outcomes:

• Recent Decision Flows: Visualizes decision-making patterns within parliament for the latest legislative activities.

• Historical Decision Flows (2016-17): Explores decision-making trends during the 2016-17 period, highlighting pathways and legislative milestones.

• Committee Decision Flows: A detailed map of committee decision-making processes during the same historical period.

Risk Assessments

Evaluates potential risks in parliamentary activities, promoting governance transparency and accountability.

Committee Views

Ballot Decision Summaries

Transparent insights into key committee ballot decisions, offering trends in legislative actions.

Decision-Making Flows

A visual map of committee decision processes during the 2016-17 period, highlighting legislative pathways.

Country Rankings and Analysis

IT Security Indicators

An analysis of Sweden’s IT security metrics, emphasizing its readiness to counter digital threats and infrastructure resilience.

Global Governance Rankings

Sweden’s ranking across governance quality, transparency, and economic indicators, compared globally.

Politician Profiles and Analytics

Legislative Contributions and Roles

A detailed profile of a parliament member, including voting patterns and decision-making impact.

Role Gantt Chart

A timeline of a politician’s roles and responsibilities, visualized for career trajectory insights.

Administrative Agency Views

Agency Operations Overview

An interface showcasing administrative agency performance, management efficiency, and specific operational insights.

Agent Operation Views

Operational Efficiency and Workflows

A detailed view of agent activities, focusing on key performance indicators, workload management, and operational distribution.

User Home and Personal Dashboards

Personalized Dashboard

An interactive user dashboard summarizing recent activities and providing quick access to key features.

Security Settings and Visit Logs

Tools to manage account security and track user interactions for enhanced safety and transparency.

Additional Information

For more details about the Citizen Intelligence Agency project, visit:

• GitHub Repository
• Official Hack23 Website

The CIA project leverages advanced analytics and visualizations to enhance understanding and promote informed decisions in Sweden’s political ecosystem. These screenshots offer a high-level overview of its features, underlining its commitment to transparency and accountability.

Overview of the committee's activities and key metrics

Ranking of committees based on performance and other criteria

Overview of the government body's structure and functions

Ranking of government bodies based on various performance metrics

Main dashboard providing a high-level overview of the project's key features

Overview of the Ministry of Enterprise and its key activities

Ranking of ministries based on performance and other criteria

Overview of parliamentary rankings and key legislative metrics

Overview of the political party's structure and activities

Ranking of political parties based on various performance metrics

Detailed profile of a specific politician, including their activities and performance

Ranking of politicians based on their performance and other criteria