BC/DR Teams Offered Chance to Participate in National Level Exercise 2011
May 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Supported and facilitated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Level Exercise 2011 (NLE 2011) has been scheduled for 16 to 20 May, 2011.
The purpose of the exercise is to prepare and coordinate a multiple-jurisdictional integrated response to a national catastrophic event, with focus on response and recovery activities among federal, regional, state, tribal, local, and private sector participants.
If applicable, please pass this along to those BC/DR planning team members in your organization and click here to direct them to more details and information on this event.
Photo courtesy of westseattleblog.com
U.S. Tsunami Preparedness Status Outlined by FEMA
April 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If your workplace, your home or your community is located in a tsunami risk area, then you may want to read the full presentation/written statement of Nancy Ward, Region IX Administrator, and Ken Murphy, Region X Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations.
The title of that presentation is “Tsunami Warning, Preparedness, and Interagency Cooperation: Lessons Learned”.
If applicable, please also pass this information along to those risk management, disaster preparedness and recovery, or PS-Prep strategy planning team members in your organization.
Photo courtesy of blog.oregonlive.com
Disaster Preparedness Webinars Offered to SMB's by SBA
February 3, 2011 By 1 Comment
Business continuity planning tips and disaster preparedness strategies and ideas are now freely available to all small and mid-sized businesses from the cooperation between the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Agility Recovery Solutions organization.
SBA Administrator Karen Mills states, “These free disaster preparedness webinars are an opportunity for business owners to learn how to become proactive and practical about analyzing risks and making a plan to recover. This is about not only protecting the business before disaster strikes, but having a plan in place so the business rebuilds quickly and thrives.”
Dates and topics for upcoming free webinars are as follows:
Feb. 15 – “Disaster Recovery Year in Review”
March 15 – “SBA Disaster Assistance”
April 19 – “Leading with resiliency during a disaster”
May 17 – “Crisis Communications Planning”
June 21 – “Hurricane Season preparation”
July 19 – “Disaster recovery best practices”
Aug. 16 – “Social media and disaster recovery”
To register for upcoming webinars and to learn more about these informative offerings, click here.
If applicable, please pass this information along to those business continuity, disaster preparedness, crisis management, PS-Prep planning or first responder team members in your organization.
DHS Announces Key Milestone in Efforts to Develop Robust Small Business Preparedness Plan
September 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a key milestone in the Department’s efforts to develop a robust small business preparedness plan—e.g. soliciting public comment on a private sector readiness certification program specifically tailored to the needs of small businesses.
Secretary Napolitano said, “Ensuring that America’s small businesses have the critical information and training they need to better respond to disasters will strengthen the entire nation’s preparedness and resilience.”
Our staff agrees with this position and as also reflected by the fact that several recent posting on this website have directed our readers to this sensitivity to small business within the PS-Prep program development.
You can read more about Secretary Napolitano’s announcement as a major milestone event in the progress of the PS-Prep program in general by clicking here.
Most importantly, however, please share your public comments on this DHS promoted and proposed plan for implementing separate classifications and methods of certification for small businesses under PS-Prep. This first-of-its-kind program will tailor voluntary private sector preparedness certification standards to specifically meet the needs and capabilities of America’s small businesses.
Comments may be submitted HERE, in Docket ID FEMA-2008-0017. And, to view some of the public comments offered to date on this matter, CLICK HERE.
Please pass this information along to the PS-Prep, business continuity, operational resilience or risk management team members in your organization.
PS-Prep Survey is Relevant Reading
September 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In a recent posting on the DomesticPreparedness.com website, Albert Romano, has written an excellent article to help our readership observe the ongoing survey results regarding the topic, “PS-Prep – Is It Relevant?” In addition, as a visitor to the website, you can also participate in the survey so that your position on this important private sector preparedness can be added to the real time measurement results of the survey.
Some of the early indications of the survey results show that most respondents are not as knowledgeable about the PS-Prep Program as they would like to be. Nonetheless, most respondents supported at least some elements of the program — but many believe that there are other elements that need to be reviewed and perhaps modified.
In Mr. Roman’s posting, he also states that “…Observations from this latest DP40 survey indicate that, although the majority of DomPrep40 members have heard about the PS-Prep Program, they are divided about the advantages and disadvantages of certification for participating organizations”.
The survey also suggests that more information about the PS-Prep Program is needed. Among the concerns raised were questions related to incentives for compliance, the risks posed by non-compliance, and the cost to businesses.
If you would like to view this posting to learn the results of the survey to date, please CLICK HERE.
If you find this information valuable, please pass it along to the PS-Prep, business continuity, disaster preparedness or crisis management team members in your organization.
View the August 24th B.I.A. Webinar
August 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Here’s the August 24th B.I.A. Webinar
B.I.A. Webinar 8-24-10 from ken on Vimeo.
To view in full screen click the 4 small arrows on the bottom right of the video that are just to the left of the vimeo logo.
"Career Options and the PS-Prep Program" – July 27th, 2010 Webinar Reminder
July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
ContinuityCompliance.Org in combination with several professional organizations is sponsoring a series of educational webinars dealing with current topics in the fields of Business Continuity, Security Management, and Regulatory Compliance.
The first of these webinars will be held on July 27, 2010 at 11 AM (Eastern) and is entitled:
Career Options and the PS-Prep Program
The following speakers will discuss how the PS-Prep Program may represent a career opportunity for those interested in internal auditing, external auditing, or consulting careers related to the PS-Prep Program:
Donald R. Byrne CBCP, CDCP, CBRO-I, Lead Auditor
As the former CEO of several companies, Don Byrne brings an executive perspective to the field of resiliency planning. A Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) Don’s expertise includes working with all types of technology, solving operational challenges, and strategic planning.
He serves on the Board of Trustees of one the largest hospitals in New Hampshire and is an active advisor to several high tech companies and professional organizations. His experience includes working with firms in the legal, insurance, manufacturing, maritime, energy, and supply chain fields as well as cultural institutions, non-profits, and data centers.
An entrepreneur and former venture capitalist, he has helped launch several technology firms. Don is the founder and Managing Director of North River Solutions (NRS), a consulting, and research firm; and is CEO of Metrix411, a software company specializing in assessments and business benchmarking. Both these companies maintain a worldwide presence with offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and China.
Lisa DuBrock, Managing Partner & Practice Manager, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Business Continuity Professional
Lisa is a compliance professional with over 20 years of diverse experience, having been a Compliance Officer for a major banking institution, Director of Business Continuity Planning, for a financial services organization, as well as IT and Operational Audit Manager for multi-national organizations.
She is a recognized Technical Expert and certified trainer, by BSI Management Systems, on the new BS 25999 – Business Continuity Management System Standard, and has spoken on numerous occasions on the benefits of implementing the standard.
She has built and managed internal audit programs for mid and large size companies, utilizing her experience as a CPA, and has an MBA with a concentration in Finance. Lisa is also a CBCP (Certified Business Continuity Professional) and serves on the board of the Northern Illinois Chapter of the ACP (Association of Continuity Planners).
Her experience locating 3,700 people during the World Trade Center disaster allows her to bring a unique understanding to the discipline of ‘Emergency Response and Operations’.
Her philosophy ‘People are a company’s most valuable asset’ – emphasizes people and communication and provides added value to clients who realize that their companies exist due to the strength of their teams.
Randy Pittman
Randy works for National Quality Assurance (NQA), an independent 3rd party certification registrar. For the past 4 ½ years Randy has served within the Business development group, developing and maintaining consultant relationships for the Quality Management Systems industry. He works with technical members of the NQA staff that develops and manages quality standards which requires accredited 3rd party registration. He also works with the NQA sales and customer service groups to help clients find resources for their quality improvement needs.
Randy’s prior background consists of business development and project management of a $7 million HVAC company and several years of IT solution sales experience. Working for NQA he is certified to both ISO 9001:2000 lead auditor and AS9100 associate auditor status. He has experience with risk management relating to ISO 31000 and business continuity; including academic knowledge of BS-25999, PS-Prep.
Scott Richter
Scott spent more than 20 years in the chemical industry in quality, environmental, preparedness and global management positions. He was one of three global technical managers for implementing ISO 9001 for all Dow Chemical global sites. He left the chemical industry in 1992 and moved into conformity assessment activities full time, working with two different certification bodies.
He was one of six volunteers that began writing the US national accreditation body’s policies and procedures in 1990. He continued volunteering for ANAB’s predecessor company for a total of six years.
Scott joined ANAB full time in August of 1998 as Director of Accreditation, responsible for all accreditation activities which ANAB oversees. In 2003 he moved into his current position as Director of Planning and Development. He is now the ANAB liaison with all entities which are promoting or desiring accredited certification programs which are based on new standards.
He has spoken at numerous conferences on the subject of the PS-Prep program and participates with the DHS/FEMA working group which is defining the program.
CYBERSECURITY – More U.S. Senate Bills Announced
June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This posting is a follow-up to an earlier posting on this website regarding recent legislative activity in the Senate and around the long awaited cyber security and FISMA reform bill.
The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010 – sponsored by Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, ranking Republican Susan Collins and Tom Carper – would provide a framework for the president to authorize emergency measures to protect the mostly privately owned critical IT infrastructure – such as financial networks and utility grids – if a cyber attack is imminent. Owners of these critical IT systems could face civil penalties if they don’t follow regulations to secure them properly.
The bill provides for the government and industry to collaborate on defining regulations and situations when a cyber emergency could be declared.
This bill would create two cybersecurity directors – one in the White House and the other in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - to lead the federal government’s information security efforts.
The bill also would reform the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), the 8-year-old law that governs how federal agencies secure their IT systems by jettisoning the paper-based compliance process with one that emphasizes continuous monitoring of computer systems and red-team assaults by “friendly hackers” to test vulnerabilities.
According to a committee-provided summary of the Protecting Cyberspace Act, a White House Office of Cyberspace Policy, headed by a Senate-confirmed director, would advise the president on all cyber security matters. The director would lead and harmonize federal efforts to secure cyberspace and would develop a national strategy that incorporates all elements of cybersecurity policy, including military, law enforcement, intelligence, and diplomacy. The director would oversee all federal activities related to the national strategy to ensure efficiency and coordination. The director would report regularly to Congress in the interests of transparency and oversight.
However, much of the day-to-day authority in implementing government cybersecurity policy would be granted to a Senate-confirmed director of the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications, or NCCC, who would report to the secretary of Homeland Security and to the president through the Office of Cyberspace Policy. The NCCC would also oversee the United States Emergency Response Team, or U.S.-CERT, and lead federal efforts to protect public and private sector cyber and communications networks.
We believe that while there is yet more to be said and final decisions to be made over this matter, it is nonetheless, a good practice to keep our readers informed of all recent developments related to this critically important topic of cybersecurity.
Click here to read more about this important cybersecurity development and pass this information along to the information security and risk management team members in your organization.
