MEASURES THAT A COMPANY SHOULD TAKE IN ORDER TO PREPARE AND DETER TERRORISM DIRECTED AT THE BUSINESS

Measures That a Company Should Take In Order To Prepare and Deter Terrorism Directed At the Business



Measures That a Company Should Take In Order To Prepare and Deter Terrorism Directed At the Business

Introduction

Many terrorist attacks are directed against private companies because of the types of businesses in which they are engaged, for example, companies that are part of the 'military industrial complex'. Financial institutions are a key target especially those involved in government-based work often against terrorists themselves. Cotler (2004) mentions that targets also include companies involved in advanced technologies such as communications or computers, particularly as they may apply to weapon systems. Targets with repercussions for the public and much favoured by terrorists are public utility companies, which cause maximum disruption when put out of action. Companies with operations in politically sensitive countries are key ideological targets. Those companies, who due to changes in the political climate may find themselves on the 'wrong side' of emotional political issues, are particularly vulnerable. Ultimately, and indeed more frequently, in recent years, transnational corporations, which because of their size or history of business domination have become symbolic of America, are ones which megaterrorists are keen to attack (Bevelacqua and Stilp, 1998, pp. 45-89).

Measures for Deterring Terrorism in Business

Shopping centres and malls have become tempting targets for many terrorists because of the numbers of people confined in one area and the number of 'brand-name' department stores, and of course, it is easy to hide bombs or other devices in such places.

Security guards - unarmed - are being employed by many major department stores to combat any potential threat of violence; and increasing use is being made of close-circuit TV monitoring. Bag, car and body searches or plain questioning are options for guards to take in the event of an incident.

What terrorists hope to achieve with regard to the very vulnerable target of attacking shoppers, are devastation involving carnage, the effects of disruption and loss of trade and forcing changes in shopping habits; from city centres to out of town, or even to force people not to shop out of sheer fear of the consequences (Cotler, 2004). At Warrington, in Cheshire, in 1993 a bomb was placed in a litterbin, in a busy shopping street leading to the deaths of three people including two children. Security bins have, as a result of such acts, increasingly been developed for use in many inner urban areas.

Threats of an extreme nature can be made to business operations, as the world witnessed on September 11. Suicide attacks can be made with firearms and explosive attacks on groups at entry to buildings; and chemical, biological and radiological materials can be released in buildings and on roads, planes, buses, trains and tunnels (Trivalio, 2002). Chemical, biological and radiological attacks can take place using materials ranging from anthrax and sarin to Caesium-137 and Uranium-235. Cyberterrorism can undermine public and market confidence and ...