CERT - Corporate Emergency Response Team

by Peter L. Higgins
Managing Director
1SecureAudit LLC


What have you done lately to help deter, defend or defeat acts of crime or terrorism in your business, building, office park or community? It's about time the leaders in our respective organizations stood up and volunteered their time, resources or in kind contributions to do so.

The CERT has been around for some time and it is now making it's way to your own "ground zero". Now our US first responders are finally getting the funds they need to make the leadership and citizen soldiers of our corporate organizations more prepared. The awareness and education wave is now ready for prime time in a conference room near you. The funds may be here, but a lack of manpower is still our greatest risk.

Incident Management is about taking command in crisis situations, whether they be the loss of a key employee or the integrity of a mission-critical database. The leaders of the next decade will stand out as true patriots in the fight against corruption, fraud, espionage and theft, not in a foreign land, but just around the corner. While we need to be prepared for the likely events we know will happen, it is the training for the ever more likely events that will deter the force that is creating ongoing acts of "corporate terrorism".

If you haven't done so already, think about the leaders in your company, the company next door to yours, on the floors above and below you. Band together. Only then will we have the momentum we require to deter, defend and defeat the enemy on a continuous basis.