Disaster Recovery Journal- Volume 19, Issue 3 - Summer 2006 Issue

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Summer 2006 Issue

DISASTER RECOVERY
JOURNAL

P. O. Box 510110
St. Louis, MO 63151
(314) 894-0276
Fax: (314) 894-7474
Internet www.drj.com
E-mail drj@drj.com

PUBLISHER
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jon Seals
jon@drj.com

SENIOR EDITOR
Janette Ballman
janette@drj.com

COPY EDITORS
Richard Sandhofer
richards@drj.com
Pamela Clifton
pamelaclifton@hotmail.com

ADVERTISING
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com

_____________

Corporate

President/CEO
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

Vice President
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com

CONFERENCE COORDINATOR
Patti Fitzgerald, CBCP
patti@drj.com

CONFERENCE REGISTRAR
Merce Knese
mercedes@drj.com

CIRCULATION
Laura Baugh
laurab@drj.com

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Jeff Dato, MBCP, KPMG
John Jackson, J Albright Advisors
Edward Devlin, E.S. Devlin & Associates
James Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting
Pat McAnally, SunGard Availability
Brian Turley, Strohl Systems
Belinda Wilson, Hewlett-Packard

INTERNATIONAL
CONTACTS
England: Thom Hetherington
Business Continuity
Phone: 0161-237-1007
thomh@tempus.demon.co.uk

Australia: Anthony J. Harvey
Journal of Business Continuity
Phone: 0011-613-953-0055-8
fax: 0011-613-953-0528
sector@notability.com.au

Japan: Shinji Hosotsubo
Quake Japan Co., Ltd.
Phone: 03-3215-2880
fax: 03-3215-2881

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Sign of the Times: Terrorism, Hurricanes

By Richard L. Arnold, CBCP

As I am writing this column, I find it difficult to settle on one topic. There have been so many recent events that have caught my eye and are relevant to the business continuity field. It seems there is a new disaster or development every day in the newspapers and on the television news.
There have been several news reports lately that I think are very relevant to business continuity. I chose to write about them here so that more attention can be given to these subjects.
One is the recent arrest of 17 terror suspects in the Toronto Canada area. The individuals were arrested for allegedly plotting to set off bombs at or near national landmarks throughout Canada. Charges against them include participation in a terrorist group, weapons-smuggling, and intent to carry out a bombing. This was the largest counter-terrorism operation and the greatest number of arrests made in Canada since the Anti-terrorism Act went into effect in December 2001. As I write this, the individuals are expected to make court appearances soon.
This is interesting to me on several levels. For one, I am glad that another terrorist group has been caught. This news could serve as a deterrent to other groups out there and it also helps all of us feel that we have made a little bit of progress in our ongoing war on terrorism. I also find it interesting to read how this group was caught. Surveillance apparently went on for months before the officials made their move. Law enforcement officials paid close attention to every move made by the group’s members and tracked that activity carefully.
Another recent story in our ongoing battle with terrorism was the death of Abu Masab al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group al-Qaida. The leader was killed during an air strike in a remote area about 30 miles northeast of Baghdad. President Bush called the death “a severe blow” to the terrorist organization. Seven of al-Zarqawi’s aides were also killed in the air strike. Like the Canadian incident, intelligence information was used to track this terrorist down.
Another subject I wanted to mention is much different than terrorism, but very timely and important. Hurricane season is here and already a storm is brewing in the gulf. Alberto, the first tropical storm of the season, moved over Florida in June and dumped large amounts of rain on the state. It then moved up the east coast before heading out to sea. Though it never grew to a hurricane, the storm is a good reminder that we need to be prepared.
The final subject I want to write about is the Avian flu. Though it is summer and most of us are not thinking about the flu or pandemics, it is still a very important threat that we need to keep in our minds and in our BC plans. In this issue of DRJ, you will find several articles on this subject. We have also created a special section on our Web site to address this important issue. For more information, see page 16.
All four of the stories that I have mentioned in this column have one thing in common: there is a need for reliable information and you must pay attention to it.
Information can also be key in staying on top of situations in every day life – whether it be a data loss, power outage or employee problem. We cover many of these subjects in each issue of our magazine and we also have presentations on them at our conferences.
I hope to see you at our next conference, Fall World 2006, in San Diego, Calif., Sept. 17 – 20. We already have 575 attendees registered. If you are interested in attending, you will find all the information you need on our Web site, www.drj.com.
Make sure you register for the conference and make your hotel reservations as soon as possible because rooms fill up fast.