Abstract
Businesses, both large multinational and small to medium, should take the threats and risks they could face seriously. Security Risk Management (SRM), Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Emergency Planning (EP) assist in achieving this by putting in place effective risk identification and management measures. Effective management of risk can make the difference between success or failure of business operations during and after difficult events. Threats can include man made threats, such as terrorist attacks, or naturally occurring threats such as earthquakes. Effective risk identification and management is essential to any business, especially with the current uncertainty in the world’s economic climate. In order for businesses to survive, during times of increased strain on business operations, it is essential that an alignment between security and business operations can be achieved. This can be achieved by the security department not only widening the remit to cover more risks, but changing how the department works and relates to the rest of the business; including shared responsibility for things such as Corporate Governance, Information Assurance, Business Continuity, Reputation Management and Crisis Management.
The problem is security departments now have more responsibilities in an increasingly complex and fast moving world. Security Risk management is no longer an activity just for companies who work in high-risk areas or with exposure to significant security threats. Therefore, security is no longer viewed as a stand-alone activity but as part of a number of disciplines; including Enterprise Risk Management, Business Continuity Management, Reputation Management, Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery and Emergency Management Planning. The types of changes that may be integrated using these disciplines will create significant resilience or