INSIGHT & OUTLOOK Threat management
Business
LEADERSHIP
in combating TERRORISM
Global terrorism poses a major threat to businesses the world over. Businesses are out of the governmental realm, and have little protection from terror activities. Any impact on businesses affects the society at large, and hence, it is important to take an active stance in countering terrorism. Suresh Lulla
T
oday, significant social, political and economic interdependences have developed among nations & businesses. In this scenario, terrorist or disaster situations in one country has a profound to moderate impact on several other businesses and economies. Further, globalisation in some cases brings with it deep intercultural and economic tensions, which over a period of time have developed as a means to facilitate terrorism. The deployment of extensive technology in terrorist activities today also provides evidence on how globalisation may sometimes prove self-destructing. Technology use, economic aspirations and cultural evolution are linked to a social maturation process, and bring positive changes to the society. What is important is that, globalisation should be used as a positive means for creating and managing these influences within a society. Businesses have a great role to play in managing this balance. With some business hubs and commercial cities such as Mumbai in India, being large enough to be independent economies in themselves, they are extremely vulnerable to terrorist activities. It is therefore important that businesses provide the necessary leadership in responding to, and maintaining the need for socio-economic balances at a micro-level, and create strategies to fight & protect businesses/economies from terrorism at a macro-level.
Basics in countering terror networks With terrorist groups being well-networked through sophisticated technologies across the globe, it is important for governments and businesses to fight them both tactically & strategically. While governments have access to infrastructure, businesses do not enjoy access to such resources, and need to employ other mechanisms to identify and understand 52
Chemical World | January 2012
the source & potential for terrorist impact, and initiate counteractive steps accordingly. Businesses need to first evaluate their exposure across a few critical aspects, and ascertain the extent of vulnerability, before they proceed to create the safeguards and fight terrorist influences. Oil and core infrastructure: Terrorism is centred on threatening critical infrastructure, supply chains, operations and physical/virtual networks. For instance, oil-related infrastructure is significant, as it can immediately bring down commercial activity globally, and also cause high-range economic impact. Terror networks particularly target important oil-flow routes such as the Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz, and Straits of Malacca, all of which are known to be fairly politically unstable regions. In addition, these routes are surrounded by some of the most socio-economically challenged countries, making their citizens easy targets for recruitment into terror groups (eg, piracy in Somalia coast and rising terrorist groups in oil-rich African countries). Social tensions: While globalisation has lifted millions out of poverty, in some cases, it has widened the rich-poor divide. The growing economic gap and the unprecedented prosperity & rise in standard of living for some will intensify the extent of perceived deprivation, fuelling antagonism and inter-group tensions. Cyber-terrorism: Many countries have a policy on intense cyber-monitoring of businesses. While these may be positioned as defence measures, what this means is that in the long run, these nations can gain access to large amounts of business critical and R&D information that may threaten not just individual corporations, but also potentially