Crises Control has created a series of pandemic response toolkits to help its customers prepare their own businesses to mitigate and respond to the potential disruptions presented by the COVID-19 outbreak.

As the spread of the virus continues globally, interrupting supply chains along the way, Marsh has issued a four-step action plan to help organisations prevent, respond and recover.

The recent and quite rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) throughout China has become a cause for concern in global markets. Domestic demand in China, where the outbreak is at its most concentrated, has already been affected.

Chubb has launched a new insurance package aimed at bridging gaps in traditional terrorism business interruption policies. Non Damage Terrorism Solutions is a single policy offering non damage business interruption, with employee and customer care assistance as a result of a terrorism loss. The policy also provides event cancellation coverage following an act or threat of terrorism, including an extension for War.

How are changes in modern working practices impacting the need for, and demands of, work area recovery in the UK? Ant Gould examines the provision of WAR and the impact of recent developments on the market and its providers

The ongoing migrant crisis poses an array of potential problems for international businesses. Addressing weak links in a supply chain – and the looming additional threat of climate change migration – may require new approaches, writes Martin Allen

Business continuity and disaster recovery provider Databarracks has bid farewell to Windows 7 with a Viking funeral. After 10 years, Windows 7 support ends tomorrow, 14th January 2020.

Will 2020 remain a period of change and instability, and will that bring significant challenges? I believe it will, and there are many drivers for this.

My prediction for 2020 is that we will see a rise in the regularity and impact of climate change protests. This protest movement is here to stay and will only get more regular and more militant as the climate emergency deepens over time. From a resilience point of view, organisations will need to review their risk assessments. Recognise any threat of being targeted because of how your business might impact on climate change, and consider the possibility of being caught up in a protest occurring in your area (in particular if you have offices in a large city), or affecting a supplier. The internet and social media make protests easier to organise and easier to target specific organisations.

Confidence among business leaders in organisational resilience has fallen for the first time since 2017, according to figures from the BSI, which concludes that businesses are struggling to adapt to new technology amid political and economic uncertainty.

Dealing with unknowns is part of the territory as a risk manager – it is integral to the job. But the level of uncertainty surrounding the possible outcomes and timings of Brexit is proving a huge challenge for even the most seasoned risk professionals. The range of scenarios businesses must prepare for is vast. This is a huge operational challenge first and foremost, but it is also proving an obstacle to getting senior management buy-in. As such, some of our members report that the lack of clarity is making it hard to get businesses to engage with – and allocate budget for – the potential impact of Brexit on their firms.

With the proliferation of social media, news of a crisis can spread instantaneously, and response tactics have a huge impact on a company’s resilience. Crisp’s 2019 Crisis Impact Report reveals the increasing power of communications on social media, the power it holds in the wake of a corporate crisis and the impact it can have on commercial reputation.

Three quarters of Japanese companies have been affected by a string of natural disasters over the past two years, suffering damage to multiple parts of their operations including factories, office buildings, distribution networks and supply chains. According to a survey by Reuters, most of those companies suffered direct or indirect effects that lasted more than a week, while the impact lasted more than a month for a third of respondents.

The international standard for business continuity management systems has been updated. Replacing the 2012 version, ISO 22301:2019 ‘Security and resilience - Business continuity management systems - Requirements’ was developed by the ISO ISO/TC 292 Security and Resilience Technical Committee, and helps organisations protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover when disruptive incidents arise.

A combination of geopolitical tensions, climate volatility and technological dependencies are contributing to a complex web of global supply chain pressures, the costs of which will build if they are not tackled now. This is the stark warning of a joint report from Airmic, AIR Worldwide, Gallagher, HDI, Lloyd’s and Sedgwick.