Disasters

Sydney installs emergency loudspeakers
Providing citizens with updated information during emergencies is a crucial aspect of preparedness; some cities build elaborate systems which “push” information into citizens’ PDAs, laptops, and cellular phones; Sydney installs old-fashioned loudspeakers
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Zero-day vulnerabilities are the top security concern
Most IT managers say that zero-day vulnerabilities are their main concern; 29 percent of organizations deployed critical updates within two hours during 2007 compared to just 14 percent in 2006
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Report of a major 2005 accident offers business continuity insights
The Buncefield oil depot accident of December 2005 provides an example of the impact major accidents can have on business continuity
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Total insured loss for summer U.K. floods estimates at up to £3.25 billion
Massive June and July floods in the U.K. may coast insurers between £2.25 billion and £3.25 billion in total
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Floods show gap between those who plan for disaster and those who do not
The massive floods in the U.K. offer vivid examples of the difference between planning and lack of planning by companies for disasters; companies which could invoke a disaster recovery plan fared much better
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FCC puts 700 MHz item on 31 July
Since 9/11 there have been calls for making part of the 700 MHz spectrum a dedicated public-safety band; the FCC is inching toward a ruling on the issue
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Terror insurance bill -- with lower trigger -- clears House subcommittee
Threshold triggering federal reinsurance coverage for terrorism damage would be dramatically reduced: The bill’s original plan was to lower program’s trigger to $50 million from its current $100 million level; subcommittee’s measure would lower it to $5 million
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Security Standard Conference to explore effects of 9/11 on business
Second annual Security Standard conference to examine whether business have learned how to protect themselves from debilitating threats, and and other questions relating to the health and safety of corporations in the age of terror
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Peach releases 12-step compliance certification scheme
We note that compliance monitoring is a growig industry, and a U.K. company issues a 12-step compliance certification tool you may find useful
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Start-up offers tool to validate disaster-recovery implementations
Every time a change is made in the production environment it must be implemented in a similar way in the disaster-recovery environment; new toll helps do just that
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IBM acquires Watchfire, expands governance and management unit
Compliance monitoring and risk management are growing industries, and IBM continues its aggressive acquisition of innovative — and complementary — companies to bolster its offerings
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IBM offers business continuity solution
IBM’s resiliency Maturity Index quantitatively assesses the ability of an organization to recover from different disasters; it also looks at the human aspect of business continuity
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DHS unveils plan for protecting trade after terrorist attack on ports
In visit to L.A., Chertoff outlines a strategy for rapid resumption of commerce in the event of an attack on a U.S. port
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Europeans stress emergency communication interoperability
ORCHESTRA is an EU-funded project aiming to develop an IT architecture that defines how proprietary IT systems can interact
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More people hospitalized in Ukraine following toxic substance dispersion
More than 70 people hospitalized following derailment of train carrying toxic phosphorous; two decades after Chernobyl, citizens suspicious of government reassurances
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The long view

To bolster the world’s inadequate cyber governance framework, a “Cyber WHO” is needed
A new report on cyber governance commissioned by Zurich Insurance Group highlights challenges to digital security and identifies new opportunities for business. It calls for the establishment of guiding principles to build resilience and the establishment of supranational governance bodies such as a Cyber Stability Board and a “Cyber WHO.”
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Protecting the U.S. power grid
The U.S. power grid is made up of complex and expensive system components, which are owned by utilities ranging from small municipalities to large national corporations spanning multiple states. A National Academy of Sciences report estimates that a worst-case geomagnetic storm could have an economic impact of $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year, which is twenty times the damage caused by a Katrina-class hurricane.
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More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes
More than 143 million Americans living in the forty-eight contiguous states are exposed to potentially damaging ground shaking from earthquakes, with as many as twenty-eight million people in the highest hazard zones likely to experience strong shaking during their lifetime, according to new research. The research puts the average long-term value of building losses from earthquakes at $4.5 billion per year, with roughly 80 percent of losses attributed to California, Oregon, and Washington. By comparison, FEMA estimated in 1994 that seventy-five million Americans in thirty-nine states were at risk from earthquakes. In the highest hazard zones, the researchers identified more than 6,000 fire stations, more than 800 hospitals, and nearly 20,000 public and private schools that may be exposed to strong ground motion from earthquakes.
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A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami
Earthquake experts had not foreseen the 2011 magnitude-9 Japan earthquake occurring where it did, so soon after the disaster, scientists in Southern California began asking themselves, “What are the big things we’re missing?” For decades, seismic experts believed the Ventura fault posed only a minor to moderate threat, but new research suggests that a magnitude-8 earthquake could occur on the fault roughly every 400 to 2,400 years. The newly discovered risk may even be more damaging than a large earthquake occurring on the San Andreas Fault, which has long been considered the state’s most dangerous. Unlike the Ventura fault, the San Andreas Fault is so far inland in Southern California, that it does not pose a tsunami risk. A large earthquake on the Ventura fault, however, could create a tsunami that would begin “in the Santa Barbara Channel area, and would affect the coastline … of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, down through the Santa Monica area and further south.”
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Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise
City leaders and property developers in Tampa Bay are urging coastal communities to prepare today for sea-level rise and future floods in order to keep flood insurance rates low in the future. FEMA, which administers the National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP), is increasing flood insurance premiums across the country, partly to offset losses from recent disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Cities can reduce insurance premiums for nearly all residents who carry flood coverage by improving storm-water drainage, updating building codes to reflect projected rise in sea-levels, moving homes out of potentially hazardous areas, and effectively informing residents about storm danger and evacuation routes.
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California drought highlights the state’s economic divide
As much of Southern California enters into the spring and warmer temperatures, the effects of California’s historic drought begin to manifest themselves in the daily lives of residents, highlighting the economic inequality in the ways people cope. Following Governor Jerry Brown’s (D) unprecedented water rationing regulations,wealthier Californians weigh on which day of the week no longer to water their grass, while those less fortunate are now choosing which days they skip a bath.
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Sydney installs emergency loudspeakers

Zero-day vulnerabilities are the top security concern

Report of a major 2005 accident offers business continuity insights

Total insured loss for summer U.K. floods estimates at up to £3.25 billion

Floods show gap between those who plan for disaster and those who do not

FCC puts 700 MHz item on 31 July

Terror insurance bill -- with lower trigger -- clears House subcommittee

Security Standard Conference to explore effects of 9/11 on business

Peach releases 12-step compliance certification scheme

Start-up offers tool to validate disaster-recovery implementations

IBM acquires Watchfire, expands governance and management unit

IBM offers business continuity solution

DHS unveils plan for protecting trade after terrorist attack on ports

Europeans stress emergency communication interoperability

More people hospitalized in Ukraine following toxic substance dispersion

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Who's online

The long view

To bolster the world’s inadequate cyber governance framework, a “Cyber WHO” is needed

Protecting the U.S. power grid

More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes

A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami

Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise

California drought highlights the state’s economic divide