Business continuity plans fail to cover the risks of unconventional terrorist attacks: CSO Magazine survey

A new survey of 476 chief security officers (CSOs) and senior security executives conducted by IDG's CSO magazine reveals that three out of five (60 percent) CSOs believe that a terrorist attack is likely to occur on either or both of the upcoming national political conventions in Boston and New York City. Only 35 percent believe an attack is unlikely. The CSO Magazine Security Sensor survey also finds that while 63 percent of CSOs report their organisations have contingency plans for conventional terrorist attacks (e.g., bombing, hostage-taking, etc.), 61 percent, do not have plans for unconventional terrorist attacks (e.g., weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical, biological). Most organisations, however, have contingency plans for natural disasters (94 percent), cyber attacks (86 percent) and employee/former employee violence (80 percent).

"There seems to be a gap between CSOs' preparations for conventional versus unconventional attacks," says Lew McCreary, editor in chief of CSO magazine. "CSOs need to be creative in developing workable contingency plans that counter the unexpected as well as the expected. Unfortunately, past experience isn't always a reliable model for future risks."

CSOs report that security investments are driven by a number of factors. While they find shoring up their network systems from electronic crime important, it is not what is driving investments. The poll reveals the majority of investment decisions are driven by issues related to regulatory compliance (49 percent) Only 11 percent of CSOs report risk of theft of intellectual property or proprietary information as the primary factor driving security investments. Interestingly, maintaining customer confidence (15 percent) and risk of financial loss (8 percent) rank lower than regulatory demands on the list of investment priorities for these security executives.

On average, the security professionals polled estimate a total annual security budget of $16.6 million. Over the past nine months, this number has remained consistent with previous CSO Magazine Security Sensor findings. These budgets include both IT security and corporate/physical security.

www.CIO.com

•Date: 10th June 2004 •Region: N.America •Type: Article •Topic: BC stats
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