Security & Business Resilience

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In the wake of recent high-profile shootings and incidents, access control, video surveillance and armed guards have become the discussion of the day to deter future attacks. But what can enterprise security leaders do about threats that cannot be prevented? How can you plan for the golden minutes following an incident?

No one better defines the adage “Find what you love to do and then figure out how to make a living at it” better than Bijan. While he held a successful career in financial services, he also volunteered as a member of the Marin (California) County search and rescue team. Following the events of 9/11, more government funding became available to help local jurisdictions prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.

If IT departments are any indication, disaster recovery is a major focus for businesses – almost 50 percent of respondents in the Quorum Disaster Recovery survey indicated 11 to 25 percent of their companies’ IT budget is allocated to disaster recovery this year. 

In an effort to avoid the 2013 Super Bowl power outage, officials put the MetLife Stadium and the Meadowlands sports complex through multiple power and utilities tests. 

Even though more than half of Americans have been impacted by a natural disaster and understand the risks they face, many have not taken basic precautions to protect themselves and their property from danger and damage.

The University of Hawaii has partnered with Ohio company Battelle to market an unmanned robotic vessel capable of exploring disaster zones in harbor ports before first-responder personnel, according to Pacific Business News.

Most states don’t require four basic safety plans to protect children in schools and child care from disasters, according to aid group Save the Children.

A special task force created after Hurricane Sandy recommends that new construction be built to withstand the force of increasingly dangerous storms, USA Today reports. The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Force also urged hardening of existing infrastructure to ward off power failures and fuel shortages, and to maintain cellular service during future catastrophes.

As part of their business continuity management (BCM) efforts, companies today are still behind in leveraging social media as a crucial resource.

Climate change could increase the size, power and frequency of tropical storms, making a Hurricane Sandy repeat entirely possible.