Swine Flu: 5 Tips to Ensure Pandemic Preparation

2009-04-30 15:38

http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=1422 By Linda McGlasson Managing Editor Bank Infosecurity April 29, 2009 The Swine Flu, if unchecked, could prove to be the pandemic that industry experts have warned about, and so financial regulators and institutions are preparing for the worst. This new outbreak, which began in Mexico and has now spread to the US, Canada, several South American countries and parts of Europe and Asia, has led governments, including the U.S. to declare a state of emergency. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday changed its pandemic alert level to Phase 4 for the first time, which means the transmission of the Swine Flu has now reached sustained, human to human transmission. Pandemic status begins at Phase 5. "All institutions should have contingency plans," says David Barr, spokesperson for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Indeed, regulators have been closely watching the developments of pandemic planning by banking institutions, and issued two interagency advisories (Advisory 1 [1]; Advisory 2 [2]) on a pandemic flu situation. The industry has prepared for such an event since 2006, says business continuity planning expert Dana Turner. "The question is: Are we ready? The answer is no. I think we're more aware -- there have only been tests, including the national industry desktop exercise held in the fall of 2007," Turner says. "But now we're facing the possibility of having a real pandemic." [1] http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2008/fil08006.html [2] http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2006/fil06025.pdf [...] -- LayerOne 2009, Information Security for the discerning professional. May 23-24 2009 @ The Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California Visit http://layerone.info for more information

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