NEWS : north america,
May 2008

Norwich University launches online Master of Science in Business Continuity Management degree course
The first master’s degree in the United States focused solely on business continuity.
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•Date: 30th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Courses and events
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Small business disaster planning resource now available in Spanish
The US Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has announced that its popular ‘Open for Business’ disaster planning toolkit is now available in Spanish.
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•Date: 30th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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Major disaster declared for Mississippi
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Mississippi to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and tornadoes on April 4, 2008. Michael L. Parker has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9886
•Date: 30th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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Study identifies key success factors for IT governance, risk and compliance management
Business continuity planning and management found to be an important aspect of successful organizations.
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•Date: 29th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: Operational risk
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FEMA makes $27.2 million available for preparedness training initiatives
Applications can be received no later than 8:00 p.m. EST June 9, 2008.
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•Date: 29th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
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40 percent of US small businesses not prepared for disasters
Office Depot survey reveals that time and perceived expense are the biggest barriers to adequate preparation.
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•Date: 28th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
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Major disasters declared in the US:

Iowa
Federal disaster aid has been made available for Iowa to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning on May 25, 2008, and continuing.
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=43572

Colorado
Federal disaster aid has been made available for Colorado to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and tornadoes on May 22, 2008.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9866

Georgia
Federal disaster aid has been made available for Georgia to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and tornadoes during the period of May 11-12, 2008.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9848

Missouri
Federal disaster aid has been made available for Missouri to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and tornadoes during the period of May 10-11, 2008.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9849

•Date: 28th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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NOAA publishes hurricane season forecasts
Above normal season likely in the Atlantic Basin; below normal Eastern Pacific season expected.
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•Date: 23rd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: 2008 hurricane season
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Major disaster declared for South Dakota
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for South Dakota to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe winter storm and record and near record snow during the period of May 1-2, 2008. FEMA named Tony Russell as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9846
•Date: 23rd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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IAEM supports reauthorization of the pre-disaster mitigation program
IAEM has sent a letter to leaders of the US Senate and US House of Representatives, of the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Subcommittees on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, expressing IAEM's support of H.R. 6109. Introduced on May 21, H.R. 6109 amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to reauthorize the Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation program (PDM) for three years. IAEM believes that PDM is an important program and urges quick action by the Congress to reauthorize PDM before its scheduled sunset on Sept. 30, 2008.
•Date: 23rd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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Define your day after: DHS urges small businesses
DHS hurricane season advertising campaign informs businesses about the importance of contingency planning.
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•Date: 22nd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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FEMA and American Red Cross brief the private sector on the National Response Framework
Businesses need to be plugged in to local emergency management...
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•Date: 22nd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
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The Business Continuity Institute launches US Chapter
As part of its global growth strategy, the Business Continuity Institute has launched its latest initiative, the BCI USA Chapter.
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•Date: 22nd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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Chertoff and Paulison discuss hurricane preparedness
Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison at a Blogger Roundtable on Hurricane Preparedness. Read
•Date: 22nd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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Major disaster declared for Arkansas
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Arkansas to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes beginning on May 2, 2008 and continuing. Kenneth M. Riley has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9827
•Date: 22nd May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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DHS awards critical infrastructure grants
$844 million awards will strengthen security at ports and enhance transit, trucking and intercity bus systems.
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•Date: 20th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Terrorism
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Belinda Wilson joins Business Continuity Journal peer review panel
Continuity Central’s sister publication, the Business Continuity Journal, has announced that Belinda Wilson has agreed to serve on the publication’s peer review panel.
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•Date: 20th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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Major disaster declared for Commonwealth of Kentucky
President Bush has declared that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and ordered Federal aid to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, mudslides, and landslides during the period of April 3-4, 2008. FEMA has named W. Michael Moore as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
•Date: 20th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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NOAA model projects fewer, but more intense hurricanes late this century
A new model simulation of Atlantic hurricane activity for the last two decades of this century projects fewer hurricanes overall, but a slight increase in intensity for hurricanes that do occur. Hurricanes are also projected to have more intense rainfall, on average, in the future. The findings are reported in a study by scientists at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J. More details.
•Date: 20th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing
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SunGard to acquire Strohl Systems
SunGard has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Strohl Systems Group, Inc
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•Date: 16th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC markets
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Are trusted systems a thing of the past?
Changing threat profiles mean that information security systems need to adapt.
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•Date: 16th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: ISM
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Crisis communications case study
A post-incident media statement by Sigue provides an interesting example of crisis communications.
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•Date: 16th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: Crisis comms
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Data Domain introduces new inline deduplication storage system
Data Domain has announced the DD690, claimed to be the industry's highest performance inline deduplication storage system for backup and other nearline applications.
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•Date: 16th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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Occupational Safety & Health Administration publishes ‘Proposed Guidance on Workplace Stockpiling of Respirators and Facemasks for Pandemic Influenza’
New pandemic planning guidance has been published by the US OSHA. Entitled ‘Proposed Guidance on Workplace Stockpiling of Respirators and Facemasks for Pandemic Influenza’, the document has been released for public comment. Click here for more details.
•Date: 16th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: Pandemic planning
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US securities industry prepares for business continuity test
SIFMA and the Financial Information Forum will lead the annual securities industry-wide business continuity test on Saturday, June 7, 2008.
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•Date: 15th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC testing
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PHNS acquires AmeriVault Corp.
PHNS, an information technology and business process service provider focused on the healthcare industry, has announced the acquisition of AmeriVault Corp., a US-based provider of remote online data backup, offsite recovery services, email archiving and data lifecycle solutions. AmeriVault will operate as a PHNS subsidiary together with PHNS' Network Technology Group subsidiary (NTG), which also provides electronic data protection services as well as advanced data center information technology services. AmeriVault will operate with Bud Stoddard, AmeriVault's president, continuing as president, and with AmeriVault's management and employees remaining in their current positions. www.phns.com
•Date: 15th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: BC markets
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New US report discusses changing nature of terror threat
Warns that the threat of home-grown terrorism is on the rise.
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•Date: 13th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Terrorism
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2008 Hurricane Preparedness Week
Will be held May 25th through May 31st.
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•Date: 13th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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Major disasters declared in the US

Oklahoma
Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding during the period of April 9-28, 2008.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9768

Maine
Severe storms and flooding beginning on April 28, 2008, and continuing.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9767

Mississippi
Severe storms and flooding beginning on March 20, 2008, and continuing.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9766

•Date: 13th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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Florida governor declares wildfire emergency
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency as wildfires fed by drought conditions threatened homes and businesses in two eastern counties. Read the CNN story
•Date: 13th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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New study shows high threat of big California quake
California has more than a 99 percent chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according to scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes.
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•Date: 9th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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Reform Institute applauds Congressional focuses on ‘Resilience’
Reform Institute to participate in ‘Resilience Month’ hearings in Washington.
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•Date: 9th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
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NIMS final comment period, May 1 - May 30
The US NIMS will undergo one final national comment period from May 1- May 30,
2008. FEMA has also provided a comment form, available in the docket at
www.regulations.gov. Due to the large number of comments that are
expected, FEMA asks that comments be submitted using this form.
•Date: 9th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: Emergency planning
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US business continuity salary and compensation report
BC Management, Inc., has released its latest report into compensations for full-time, permanent, business continuity employees in the US.
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•Date: 7th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
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SunGard Availability Services agrees strategic partnership with VMware
SunGard will leverage VMware virtualization solutions to help create a suite of simple, fully-managed AdvancedRecovery services.
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•Date: 7th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC markets
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Major disaster declared for Oklahoma
FEMA has announced that a major disaster exists in the state of Oklahoma and that Federal aid will be made available to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding during the period of March 17-23, 2008. Justin A. Dombrowski has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9746
•Date: 7th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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How to deploy BS 25999 : second edition
Avalution Consulting and BSI Management Systems America have published an updated version of their co-authored white paper ‘How to deploy BS 25999’.
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•Date: 1st May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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The Conference Board looks into use of business continuity, disaster recovery and related standards by US organizations
No consensus on which is the most useful standard.
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•Date: 1st May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
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Strohl adds emergency notification feature to PLANet
Enables community banks or credit unions to contact employees and vendors in a time of crisis.
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•Date: 1st May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Crisis communications
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Financial innovations can open the US insurance market to wider disaster coverage
According to Milken Institute report.
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•Date: 1st May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Operational risk
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US National Level Exercise 2-08
NLE 2-08 will exercise capabilities to prepare and respond to multiple incidents including both natural disasters and terrorist incidents.
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•Date: 29th April 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
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2008 Multinational Risk Survey
Chubb has released the results of its annual study of operational risks facing North America head-quartered multinational companies.
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•Date: 29th April 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Operational risk
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Six best practices companies should consider before they virtualize their servers
Gartner issues advice.
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•Date: 25th April 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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Dell completes MessageOne acquisition
Dell has announced the completion of its $155 million acquisition of MessageOne, Inc., the provider of enterprise-class e-mail business continuity, compliance, archiving and disaster recovery services.
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•Date: 25th April 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC markets
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SBA honors outstanding disaster recovery efforts
Phoenix Awards presented.
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•Date: 24th April 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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