Disasters

Westlin, Zogmo offer dual data center IT continuity deal
Interest is growing in disaster communication continuity solutions, and two Texas companies join hands to offer a dual data center solution
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Depending on a data center makes your company vulnerable
Relying on a data center may be necessary for company operations, but it adds a layer of vulneability for which companies must prepare
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TeleContinuity offers survivable communication solution
Communication systems collapse or are severly disrupted during disasters; for many businesses, communication survivability means business survivability; this is where TeleContinuity comes in
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Airwave emergency communication radios "seriously flawed"
In 2002 London launched a £3 billion emergency communication service; 7/7 highlighted shortcomings in the system, and a new study finds that two years later the system is still flawed
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Many 7/7 attack victims are still dealing with its repercussions
Those who survive a terrorist attack have many problems to cope with, and government bureaucracies set up to help vitims are often not as nimble as we would hope
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U.S. BioDefense evaluates EDS spin out
California company considers spinning out a disater recovery company it acquired in August 2006
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Illinois Emergency Alert System activated by mistake
Hundreds of radio stations in and around Chicago were sent the Emergency Alert System by mistake, disrupting broadcasts for a few anxious moments
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Unified communication important in disaster recovery
More government agencies embrace unified communications which they consider critical to disaster recovery and business continuity
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Durham University develops business continuity plan
A U.K. university contracts a business continuity consulting firm to develop a business continuity blueprint for the school
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Business continuity planning has reached a more steady state
Business continuity planning was a feast-and-famine phenomenon, but now it is again a top priority for Wall Street firms and vendors
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Egenera receives disaster recovery patent
Massachusetts company designs a disaster recovery solution which simplifies moving entire groups of servers, including their storage and network connections, to remote sites
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E-mail disaster recovery niche market growing
E-mail disaster recovery market will reach $635 million by end of 2007, and $887 million by 2011
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Congressional panel to recommend extending TRIA with modifications
Few programs arouse as much debate — and split the insurance industry — as the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA); House panel recommends extension of TRIA, but with modofications
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Decision on on 700 MHz nears
The need for emergency communication interoperability has prompted calls for using part of the 700 MHz band for public safety; industry heavyweights object, and the FCC is divided
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Pennsylvania offers itself as safe alternative to Wall Street
Governor Ed Rendell spearheads a campaign to persuade Wall Street companies to locate their back offices in the Poconos, arguing that it is far enough from New York to be outside a nuclear blast zone
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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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Westlin, Zogmo offer dual data center IT continuity deal

Depending on a data center makes your company vulnerable

TeleContinuity offers survivable communication solution

Airwave emergency communication radios "seriously flawed"

Many 7/7 attack victims are still dealing with its repercussions

U.S. BioDefense evaluates EDS spin out

Illinois Emergency Alert System activated by mistake

Unified communication important in disaster recovery

Durham University develops business continuity plan

Business continuity planning has reached a more steady state

Egenera receives disaster recovery patent

E-mail disaster recovery niche market growing

Congressional panel to recommend extending TRIA with modifications

Decision on on 700 MHz nears

Pennsylvania offers itself as safe alternative to Wall Street

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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