The possibility of an evacuation of personnel and their families from a manmade or natural disaster keeps many security directors up at night. Evacuations are logistical ballets, where all moving parts must be practiced and happen in just the right order to be successful. And the plans must also include contingencies for the unexpected black swan events.
Businesses today face an ever growing array of threats to the security of their critical data and IT assets. From sophisticated cyber attacks to unintentional data exposure to environmental threats, the list of potential causes of harm is endless.
We often talk about business continuity in practical, pragmatic terms. But it’s important to remember that when a crisis hits a company, no matter how well prepared that company is, emotions will run high.
During the past few years, my Security 500 research has identified the move of business resilience under the security umbrella in many organizations. Business resilience is defined as business continuity, emergency management and disaster recovery.
Recent events such as Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the flooding in Australia remind us that solid business continuity plans can keep a company up and running, whether the disruption or crisis lasts a few days, a week or even a month.
“The tragic events of today cannot be remedied with words. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. You may be certain that although no one can predict tragedy, we have invested heavily to prevent or mitigate its consequences.”
