| Business continuity planning is one subject that is | | | | site; embarrassment all round. |
| often left to the last minute but is one of great | | | | The company has now put a system in place to |
| importance. | | | | override the card system if it fails in the future. |
| If you wait until 'something' happens, it could be too | | | | The winter season also means that illness will |
| late. I have seen people wading in calf deep water | | | | increase; how many companies have prepared for a |
| looking for the stopcock; others reading the | | | | flu epidemic? Sadly very few. |
| instructions on a fire extinguisher in the middle of a | | | | Companies that have incorporated ISO27001 |
| fire. | | | | (Information Security Management System) will have |
| In reality we should all know what to do in an | | | | an emergency plan in place, regularly tested and |
| emergency well before the emergency happens and | | | | validated. This together with an IT disaster Recovery |
| be prepared for most eventualities. | | | | Plan will be able to deal with most eventualities. The |
| We have read about the terrorist attack, the dirty | | | | old saying that 'if you hope for the best but prepare |
| bomb and other major catastrophes but it is often | | | | for the worst' is a good mantra to use. |
| the 'soft' disasters which can cause irreparable | | | | Companies that have suffered major disaster, like |
| damage to a company. | | | | being in the vicinity of the Buncefield fuel depot fire, |
| One such problem occurred recently; the company | | | | and did not have any business continuity plan have |
| uses a card entry system to gain access to the | | | | disappeared without trace. Insurance cover just didn't |
| building. The server housing the operating system | | | | mitigate all the problems. Those companies that did |
| failed and prevented anyone entering the building. It | | | | have a plan in place, had difficulties but managed to |
| was apparent that there was no manual override; | | | | survive. |
| people milled around outside the building, not really | | | | It is a pity that, as of December 2007, there are only |
| knowing what to do. Eventually someone broke a | | | | 363 companies in the UK certificated to ISO27001. It |
| window to gain entry. Of course the alarm went off | | | | is a very big standard to achieve but the benefits are |
| and before it could be turned off the police were on | | | | huge. |