Terrorism never ends...

The U.S. has spent more than $1 trillion dollars on the war on terrorism since 9/11. As the 10th anniversary of that terrible day approaches, we take another look at the impact of terrorism on our lives and business and recommend that you continue your business continuity efforts.

Key threats to business continuity include terrorism and political unrest, an Aon report finds. (Item #1)   Lyndon Bird, director of the Business Continuity Institute, looks at terrorism as a threat to business continuity and its potential to interrupt activity, and how to approach prevention. (Item #2)   It's not just the 10 largest cities that should be concerned about terrorism. (Item #3)  

This paper examines the impact of terrorism on five business sectors: the equities market, aviation, tourism, insurance and corporate security. (Item #4)   Read this compilation of observations on the impact of terrorism on business. (Item #5)   What can business do to cope more successfully with terrorism? (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Political unrest joins terrorism as key threat to global business

Political violence, strikes, riots, civil war and war threaten the sustainable growth, continuity and profitability of businesses as much as terrorism, according to Aon Risk Solutions. The firm has included these factors in its 2011 Terrorism and Political Violence Map for the first time
http://www.theactuary.com/actuary/news/2090784/political-unrest-joins-terrorism-key-threat-global-business

2. Planning ahead

Creating operational resilience, protecting business reputation and adding value rather than just responding to emergencies are just a few strategies in order to prevent terrorism posing a threat to business continuity, both directly in its potential to interrupt operational activities and indirectly through the changes in business resilience methods needed to prevent it occurring or at least mitigate its impact.
http://www.counterterrorbusiness.com/features/47-business-continuity/482-planning-ahead

3. The terrorist threat is not limited to the 10 largest cities

The recent move by the House of Representatives to limit the Urban Area Security Initiative to only 10 cities has obviously caused concern for the 54 other UASI cities. These cities will be clamoring to make the case that they too are at risk from the threat of terrorism. While there are many past examples of terrorist acts or attempted acts across the country, from Oklahoma City to Seattle, one not need to look far to find a solid basis for this concern.
http://all-hands.net/blog/?p=30

4. The Impact of Terrorism on Business

Terrorism has in one form or another been a part of society throughout history. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the world community has been more focused on terrorism than ever before in most recent modern history. Terrorism has impacted multiple levels of society across the world community. One of those levels is the business environment. A specific aim of terrorism is to disrupt and destroy ongoing businesses.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6054/is_200904/ai_n32319736/

5. Impact of 'War on Terrorism' on the Economy & Business: We are Spending; $Trillions + Casualties + TSA + ..., and Counting

"From a business standpoint, an act of terrorism has the potential of compromising the organization's ability to continue to operate. When it cannot operate, the length of the interruption in operations becomes a crucial factor. When the organization is able to continue to operate, operating costs may become an issue."
http://bizshifts.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/impact-of-%E2%80%98war-on-terrorism%E2%80%99-on-the-economy-business-we-are-spending-trillions-casualties-tsa-and-counting/

6. How can business cope with terrorism?

In this paper, the term "coping with", rather than "fighting", terrorism has been chosen on purpose. In line with all serious scholars I start from the position that terrorism always has existed, and always will exist. It is impossible to eradicate terrorism completely, not even if the most stringent deterrence policies are employed. Business leaders should not fall prey to the illusion that terrorism is a transitory phenomenon that will disappear in due course. Rather, they need to muster ingenuity and resources and set out to deal with terrorism as a part of the many other challenges they must face.
http://www.bsfrey.ch/articles/C_498_09.pdf