Officials: Texas plane crash targeted feds

SUMMARY: A Texas businessman upset with the Internal Revenue Service deliberately crashed his private plane into a multistory office building that houses federal tax employees, authorities said. The pilot was presumed to have died in the crash though his body had not been recovered. At least two people were seriously injured and a third person — a federal employee who worked in the building — was unaccounted for, fire officials said. Joseph Stack, 53, left a message on his company’s web site railing against the IRS and saying “violence is the only answer.’’

STORY LINK: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35460268/ns/us_news-life/

ANALYSIS: Along with the obvious advice to avoid putting your office space in proximity to a potential target such as an IRS facility, this incident put an exclamation point on a week that served to illustrate that you never know when a disaster can strike, or in what form.

This week we have had:

• Numerous hospitals and other organizations exercising some part of their emergency plans because of the weather. Many never considered a snow plan.
• Another example of workplace violence (the item below) where lots of signals were missed by the organization and law enforcement.
• Iran fast tracking a nuclear showdown in the Middle East.
• Continued hacking, showing our computer network vulnerability.
• Visa having around 70,000 accounts compromised, which has not made the news yet. I know because I was one of the people hit and found out because I used to work for a bank and my friends inside told me what happened.
• The Olympics’ opening ceremony being marred by protestors and technical glitches.

All of these events required back-up planning. The question is, who did well, who got burned and who just got lucky because the incident wasn’t more severe or last longer?

--Scott Watkowski, Firestorm franchise principal

HEADLINE: Intelligence officials say al-Qaeda will try to attack U.S. in next 6 months

SUMMARY: The Obama administration's top intelligence officials this week termed the likelihood of an attempted al-Qaeda attack on the United States in the next six months as “certain,’’ and also warned of the increased sophistication and frequency of cyber-attacks from Chinese hackers. "Al-Qaeda maintains its intent to attack the homeland -- preferably with a large-scale operation that would cause mass casualties, harm the U.S. economy or both," said Director of National Intelligence, Dennis C. Blair.

STORY LINK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020203975.html?hpid=topnews

ANALYSIS: The recent headline should not be of any surprise, but more of a reminder that we need to stay vigilant on terror. We also should use this as a reminder of what terrorism can do to businesses. The incident does not have to affect your operation directly. Like many companies, your business disruption can become a business disaster.

Take a moment to consider your vulnerabilities: 85 percent of the country’s infrastructure is in the private sector. You should be asking yourself, is my business continuity plan going to work? Is it up to date?  Does it address the new types of threats? Was the plan ever tested? When was the last time it was read (70 percent of employees do not know what to do in an emergency)? Is anyone in my critical supply chain at high risk? What are their plans? The fact is 55 percent of companies that experience a disaster are out of business within two years.

If terrorists attacked a couple of critical interstate bridges in your area, how would that affect you and your business? What if the Los Angeles and New York City ports got shut down for a couple of months? What if we experience conditions and confusion as in Haiti from a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or fire? Terrorists are looking to attack softer targets that can create economic disruptions and instill fear in the public.

Start 2010 with a review of your security measures and your overall business continuity plans. To do your part helping to thwart terrorism, and instill overall good business practices, consider some of the following points:

·         Identify your critical vendors and ask about their business continuity plans.

·         Develop a crisis communication plan in the event you have a workplace violence incident, lock down, or unexpected closing for days or weeks.

·         Perform a review and look for gaps in all your plans.

·         Update all calling trees and phone directories.

·         Perform daily checks on critical areas and keep a record of these security inspections. Some day you might need them for court. Keep your reports accurate and detailed.

·         Secure all mechanical and utility rooms that contain gas or electrical equipment. Generators make great targets because they typically have large supplies of electricity and a fuel source.

·         Check accessibility to utility feeds on a regular basis. It is a good idea to take digital photographs to verify existing conditions and if need be, to compare them against something in the future.

·         Increase your foot patrols and make your presence known. 

Being prepared and training for terrorist activities helps you review and assess other components of your disaster plans. This planning also helps for other problems that occur with regular familiarity throughout the United States: fire, flooding, earthquakes, workplace violence, armed robberies, etc. Taking Firestorm’s Business Continuity Self-Assessment can help focus energy and your limited budget dollars.

--Scott Watkowski, Firestorm franchise principal