UK terrorist threat level raised to Severe

The UK terror threat level is being raised from “substantial” to “severe”, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.

The new alert level means a terrorist attack is considered “highly likely”. It had stood at substantial since July.
It is in response to the perceived increased threat from international terrorism following the failed Detroit airliner bombing on Christmas Day.

In today’s society, we face a very uncertain future. Since the July Tube bombings, It’s fair to say some of us would rather change seats than sit next to a fellow bearded passenger carrying a rucksack.  Unfortunately, since the attacks, Britons now face an increased risk.

The UK has made itself a terrorist target since taking part in the war against Iraq, but just how prepared are we in terms of Disaster Recovery should the worst happen?

Disaster Recovery

As we come to rely on technology more and more, just how can we protect ourselves and our businesses in the event of a terrorist attack?
If your office was attacked right now – What would happen? Can you honestly answer the questions with a solution?Disaster recovery planning  is an important aspect in todays society, not just in respect of terrorist attacks but from natural hazards such as fire and water damage.  SysFix IT Support provide Disaster Recovery Planning consultations to help get you on the right track to ensuring you have some protection should the worst happen. Please contact us for a no obligation quote.

Some planning is better than no planning at all!

Top 5 Rules of Disaster Recovery Planning

1. eMail: The most important communication tool in todays business. Ensure that you have a facility in place that allows the inbound routing of all email to a secondary service that allows business continuity. As an optional extra, ensure that current emails are backed up and readily available on the secondary system.
   

   Burnt Server - Disaster Recovery and Disaster Planning is Important!

2. Phone: The second most important communication tool. How will your clients contact you? There is a growing increase in the use of VOIP / SIP technology (making calls over your broadband connection).  VOIP has the benefit that you can easily set up your inbound and outbound numbers elsewhere in the event of an emergency. With traditional analogue lines, you;re at the mercy of providers such as BT. It’s important to delegate members of your team to handle incoming calls by any mean , even if it’s simply bu using a mobile phone. Your main office number can easily be redirected to a mobile -IF you have in place, the procedure and know how  to do so .
3. Bums on Seats – In the event of a disaster, it’s okay having telephones and email, but where will your staff work. As a minimum requirement to disaster recovery planning, a central off site storage area should be established where users can VPN into the server and access company documents.
4. Staff: What if your Staff  have no bums? In the event of a terrorist attack and your entire workforce was wiped out, could another office continue the business? An office handbook should be created, outlining EVERYTHING in black and white.  A guide on how to build up the business from scratch. All documentation, all user guides, contacts. As much as possible should be logged into this book.
5. Connectivity – No Internet access, No Mobile Phone Network, No Land-line – How can you operate under these circumstances. For many, this has happened and must be looked at. Can you afford to have a failover solution outside of your city?

SysFix Group welcomes your comments and views on the new security level announcement and how this will affect you.