Scottish businesses not doing enough to guard against terrorist attacks Emergency services and local organisations including Tayside Police and Scotland Online are joining forces at the event, which is being held in Dundee, to stress the importance of business continuity planning and outline what steps should be taken to ensure that a company can continue to trade in the event of a disaster. In a press release to highlight the event, Alan Dawson, a board member of the Scottish Continuity Group and business continuity development manager at Scotland Online, explained why there is concern that not enough companies in Scotland are investing in business continuity. He states: “Business continuity planning should be an important consideration for any organisation but too many companies in Scotland are just not doing enough and are leaving themselves exposed. “Terrorism is not the only threat facing businesses today, a gas-leak or flood, a burglary or simple vandalism could seriously affect the day-to-day running of a company and if effective back-up systems are not in place then companies will lose trade. “Some may even be unable to continue in business after such an interruption, especially if cash flow is tight, and if they have not legislated for unexpected contingencies. “Many cite cost as a reason for not implementing a disaster recovery plan, but more often than not all it takes is simple common sense, such as backing-up your files on a daily basis and storing them in a secure location off-site. “What we are trying to do through the Resilient Community Exercise is to create awareness amongst both public and private sector organisations, of the importance of having such plans and providing them with the know-how on how to shape them.” Chief Constable of Tayside Police, John Vine, supports Mr Dawson’s comments, saying: “Planning is everything. Terrorism planning, protecting employees as well as business information and facilities, needs to be taken seriously by senior management and boards of directors. “Building a secure business is not just about supply and demand. It is about the protection and prevention measures that you can put in place against crime, the consequences of a natural disaster, electronic attack, acts of terrorism and other events that would have an impact on your business. “Businesses can do much to reduce vulnerabilities by taking time to review their preparedness to deal with emergencies and put simple and often inexpensive security measures in place. From the basics of identifying where your business is vulnerable to making sure you have suitable IT security such as passwords and making sure your key suppliers have plans in place to continue business if they are the ones affected.”
•Date: 8th September 2005 • Region: UK• Type:
Article •Topic: Terrorism |
