Corporate America has strengthened physical and cyber security

A new Business Roundtable CEO survey shows that America's leading companies are better prepared to deal with threats, respond to a terrorist incident, and return to business as usual after an incident. The survey shows that CEOs have devoted more attention and resources to security issues and that companies have taken action to address security challenges.

"Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, security has become embedded into core business operations and daily activities of our companies," said C. Michael Armstrong, chairman of Comcast and chairman of the Roundtable's Security Task Force. "Companies are strengthening the resiliency of the nation's critical infrastructures, increasing investments in physical and cyber security, improving crisis communications and developing more extensive emergency response plans. In addition, CEOs are personally engaged in security, and more than half of the companies have made security a board-level issue.

"The private sector owns and operates 85 percent of the nation's critical infrastructure, and Roundtable companies are stepping up to address risks to homeland security," Armstrong added. "We are doing our part to protect employees, customers, facilities and our country."

Key findings of the survey include:

* Better physical and IT security - nearly every company surveyed has increased physical security (99 percent) and strengthened cyber security (100 percent) since the 9/11 attacks.

* CEOs are personally focused on security – 87 percent of the CEOs who responded are devoting more time and attention to security since the 9/11 attacks.

* Double digit increases in security spending - companies have boosted spending on security by an average of nearly 10 percent since 9/11 - during a time when the economy was struggling - and 96 percent project that security spending in 2004 will increase or remain steady.

* Improved crisis communications - nearly every company (99 percent) has a crisis communications programme for employees. About nine in 10 companies (88 percent) have a similar plan for customers, and 78 percent have a crisis communications plan for suppliers.

* Updated emergency response plan – 97 percent of the companies have an emergency response plan that has been updated in the two years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Nearly 90 percent of the companies test their emergency plans each year, and 40 percent test their plans at least twice each year.

* Making security a board-level issue - more than half of the companies (54 percent) said that security-related issues are part of the board's regular
corporate governance activities and 81 percent of companies that raised security to a board-level issue did so in the past two years.

www.businessroundtable.org

•Date: 3rd March 2004 •Region: N.America •Type: Article •Topic: BC stats
Rate this article or make a comment - click here