Hints and Tips for Running SIMEX Exercises
After delivering a number of SIMEX exercises in the past three months, Charlie shares the learning points from these, along with helpful tips for effective SIMEX exercises. What is a SIMEX? A SIMEX is a type of exercise which involves an incident management team or teams responding to an unfolding scenario. This exercise is unique
Crisis Support Teams – What are they & do I need one?
Creating an effective crisis management team can be complex as you have to take many factors into consideration. In this bulletin, Charlie outlines his thoughts on creating a crisis support team, and what their functions and roles could be. Four years ago I started working on my PhD with the University of Glasgow. After a
Learning Points From the SEPA Cyber-Attack
Charlie lists the key points that you can learn, from the SEPA cyber-attack that occurred last year. He discusses what is important and how to ask yourself these questions to make sure you and your organisation are always prepared. Keen readers of the bulletin will remember when I wrote a number of bulletins commenting on
Comments on the Yorkshire Cricket Club Racism Crisis
Have you given any thought to what your company would do if they were accused of wrongdoing and suddenly in a reputational crisis? This week, Charlie discusses what business continuity professionals should take away from the Yorkshire Cricket Club scandal, and points to consider when thinking about your own company. For the past year and
Wicked Problems – What Do I Need To Know?
Charlie discusses the theory of wicked problems, what it means for business continuity professionals and how we are able to implement this idea into our plans. This week I wanted to share with you all an academic theory around wicked problems. I came across this term during my reading on crisis management, but until very
The Future of Incident & Crisis Management Rooms Post COVID – In a Hybrid Working World
Need a more effective way of conducting video meetings in this new hybrid world? Charlie discusses the pros, cons and solutions for utilising Microsoft Teams within your team and company. With most organisations adopting hybrid working, it is becoming more likely that incidents will be managed by a combination of people in the office and
Is Business Continuity One of the Victims of COVID?
In today’s bulletin, Charlie discusses his thoughts on the industry that is business continuity and how he believes COVID has negatively impacted it. Nothing particular in the news piqued my interest this week, therefore, I decided to give my thoughts on ‘Is Business Continuity One of the Victims of COVID?’. I think in a number
Our Work with Aruba’s Water Suppliers
We have been proudly working with WEB Aruba to help them create crisis management plans and run exercises. Here is their press release on our latest exercise. WEB Aruba organises ‘water rationing plan’ exercise How prepared are we in the event that water production and distribution comes to a stop at WEB? This week, the
PlanB Consulting Finalists for Best Cyber Breakthrough
We are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted in the ‘Best Cyber Breakthrough’ category for the 2021 Scottish Cyber Awards. Organised by The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) and now in its fifth year, the awards recognise and celebrate stand-out individuals and organisations making a positive impact in Scotland’s cyber security sector. Jude
Fantasy Crisis Communications – Prince Andrew
In today’s bulletin, Charlie dives into the Prince Andrew court case and the communication issues surrounding it. Discussing the importance of branding, strategy and response, not only in this case, but in all crisis management cases. My daughter, Phoebe, is rather good at knowing who’s who in rugby and in last year’s 6 Nations she
Embedding BC for a More Resilient Future
As it is BCI Education Month, this week Charlie discusses the need for embedding business continuity to create a more resilient future, using examples of scenarios that are happening right now across the world. ‘Embedding Business Continuity for a more Resilient Future’ was a title given to us for BCI Education Month and I promised
Dealing with Anniversaries
Charlie discusses how companies should be commemorating and including the anniversaries of traumatic events within their business continuity plans, whilst keeping in mind how anniversaries such as these will also affect your employees. Last week it was 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York. The commemorations that followed got me thinking about
Preparation for Protest
In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses how to prepare your company against protesters. Taking into consideration the safety of your staff, protesters and your company’s reputation. With the Extinction Rebellion in London last week and the COP26 (Conference of the Parties) happening in Glasgow, in 6 weeks. I thought it might be a good time
Low-Level Cyber Attacks
Charlie looks at the lessons you need to take away from a low-level cyber attack. I am going to leave the New York flooding, storm and the hurricane in Louisiana for another day and just write a short piece on this incident I came across on phishing emails. More details on the incident can be
What Can We Learn from Afghanistan 2021
In today’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the devastating events unfolding in Afghanistan and what we need to learn from this as business continuity professionals. I have been watching the events unfold in Afghanistan over the last couple of weeks with the Taliban taking over the country, the air evacuation taking place, and yesterday the two suicide
A Guide to Writing Contingency Plans and Playbooks
This week, Charlie goes into depth about different contingency plans, how to know which plan suits which incident, and how to create a framework that works for you! I have spoken about the requirement for writing generic response plans in a previous bulletin. This is a framework that covers all responses to any type of
Cyber Podcasts You Need To Listen To!
As podcasts are becoming the new ‘thing’, Charlie shares his three favourites. Keep up-to-date with business continuity by listening to these incredibly interesting and thought-provoking podcasts. As many of you may have plans to go on holiday soon, I thought I would share three cyber podcasts I really enjoy listening to regarding business continuity. I
Location, Location, Location! With What3words
In this week’s bulletin, Charlie talks about why determining an accurate location during an emergency is important, and how you can incorporate this into your emergency plan. When responding to an incident it’s critically important to understand the location of the incident, so that internal support and the emergency services know exactly where to go.
A Checklist for the Loss of People
This week, Charlie discusses the NHS COVID-19 tracking app, getting ‘pinged’ and the consequences of self-isolation on businesses. I’ve been seeking inspiration for this week’s bulletin, and it came to me about 20 minutes ago while listening to the news this morning. The news piece in question discussed how many businesses were struggling due to
Kaseya Attack: What is a supply chain cyber attack?
The Kaseya cyber-attack has been in the news for the last few days and I thought this was an opportunity not to look at the detail of the attack itself but to look at the issue of supply chain cyber attacks. Supply chain cyber attacks are where criminals target software vendors or IT services companies
Is Crisis Management Only For “Unprecedented and Extraordinary Events”?
In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the debate around the definition of crisis management and what he thinks crisis management should cover. I was chatting with one of my clients in Renfrewshire and we talked through his crisis management plan, which he had taken from the book ‘prTS 17091, Crisis Management – Guidance for Developing
Process Controls, SCADA and Cyber Security
This week, Charlie discusses the effects a cyber attack can have on an organisation’s process control and SCADA systems. For the last three weeks, I have been working for a power and water company in the Caribbean with my wife, Kim. We delivered a programme to improve their response to a wide range of incidents
BrewDog Crisis Communications: Case Study Review
This week I take a look at the BrewDog crisis communications, including how well they handled accusations against them and how your company can use the lessons learnt. I am partial to a Punk IPA and some of the company’s rather gooseberry tasting beers. So I thought now that the incident is out of the
Hypercomplexity: Which Incidents Should We Be Preparing For?
In this week’s bulletin, I discuss the idea of a hypercomplex world and preparing for different scenarios in it. A few weeks ago, I wrote a bulletin on scenario planning and how under the new requirement of Operational Resilience for FCA and PRA, regulated organisations now have a requirement to determine ‘extreme but plausible scenarios’
Isle of Coll Fire – A view from the frontline
This week I talk about the recent fire on the remote island of the Isle of Coll. I discuss how the professionals and community responded and how this incident compares to others he has read about. I tell people how to manage disasters not actually take part in one! As a consultant, I tell people how to