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Sept 2008 Issue
BCM Health Checks
Cyber Storm II
IT DR Technology Report
Head in the Clouds?

Our Services

Crisis Management
Business Continuity
Disaster Recovery
Security Management
Risk Management

See our website for full details
BCM Health Checks

When was the last time you undertook a health check of your Crisis Management, Business Continuity or IT Disaster Recovery plan(s)? 

Maybe it's time to have one conducted by one of our experienced consultants?  
 
Whether it's a review of your existing plan documentation, assessment of your recovery site arrangements, or a workshop of continuity requirements with your business units and staff, you will receive a professional assessment of your current situation, recovery readiness and remediation plan.

               
Contact us on  1300-BCPLAN or by email to info@opscentre.com for more details on this offer.

Industry Links

Dear                                  

Our feature article this month summarises the just-published lessons learned from Australia's first ever national e-security exercise, Cyber Strom II, conducted on the 10-14th March 2008.

This international cyber security exercise, which I had the privilege of attending, was designed to simulate a significant global incident caused by attacks on critical infrastructure systems via the Internet. It was led by the United States Department of Homeland Security and allowed government and business sectors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to put their e-security arrangements to the test.

Australia's involvement in Cyber Storm II included both federal and state government agencies and the largest contingent of private sector organisations ever involved in such an exercise.
According to Attorney-General Robert McClelland, the exercise has "proved Australia's response arrangements to cyber-attack are sound, but just as importantly, demonstrated areas where improvements can be made."

"The world's increasing dependence on electronic communications creates new opportunities for criminals and terrorists. The lessons learned from exercises such as Cyber Storm II help ensure Australia is well placed to combat these threats."

Three key findings from the exercise were:
1)      Effective response to a cyber crisis is significantly enhanced by having tested procedures or arrangements in place
2)      More frequent, non-crisis interaction between various stakeholders involved in protecting the national information infrastructure will enhance real world response capabilities.
3)      The borderless nature of cyber attacks, and the speed with which they can escalate across infrastructure sectors, was demonstrated in Cyber Storm II. Contingency planning must include potential flow-on effects.

The final report released by Attorney-General Robert McClelland can be obtained here.  We hope you find it of interest.

Finally, to everyone who attended our Introduction to IT Disaster Recovery training course in Canberra last week; I thoroughly enjoyed the day and thanks for your positive feedback.

Warm regards


Rod Crowder
Ph: 1300-BCPLAN / +612 8251 0080
Mb: 0412 337 677
rod.crowder@opscentre.com
IT DR Vendor Technologies ReportIT DR Technologies Report

The latest edition of our IT Disaster Recovery Technology Report is available now.

If you are looking into the myriad of technology products to support your IT disaster recovery infrastructure, then this valuable report will help you to demystify the various products available and their purpose.

The report provides company and product profiles of many of the major vendors in the local and international marketplace, including: HP, Platespin, Sun, CA, Sonasoft, EMC, Double-Take, Acronis, Brocade, Symantec, L-Soft, Ultrabac and others.

This is a non-sponsored report and so vendors will not be provided with your details, nor will they be asked to contact you.

Price:   FREE
Pages:  32

For a copy, or more information about this and our other research publications, contact us:

Phone:  1300-BCPLAN
Intl:      +612 8251 0080
Email:   getresearch@opscentre.com
Cloud Computing
Head in the Clouds?

There's been lots of talk recently about cloud computing and storage, and several of our clients have asked us to explain what this new trend is all about.

Darrin has put together a short executive presentation (15 pages) which gives an introduction to this subject, what it means, and the issues to consider when implementing cloud-technology within your organisation.  You can download his presentation here.

For more information, give us a buzz on 1300-BCPLAN or drop an email to getresearch@opscentre.com
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Training Courses and Workshops in conjunction with:
 
  • Workshop - IT Disaster Recovery Testing
  • Training Course - An Introduction to IT Disaster Recovery
  • Training Course - Advanced IT Disaster Recovery
OpsCentre is partnering with Continuity Forum to deliver two IT Disaster Recovery related workshops throughout Australia.
  • The next Testing IT Disaster Recovery Workshop is planned for Sydney on 29th October.  For the workshop brochure, click here.
  • Our Introduction to IT Disaster Recovery course will be held in Melbourne on 28th November. For the course brochure, click here.
We are currently finalising an Advanced Disaster Recovery Planning Course - call or email us if you are interested in pre-registering for this course, which will be held early in 2009.
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