Jonathan Liebenau, PhD London School of Economics & Columbia University

1. Corporate Intranets, Disaster Response and Business Continuity; Hard lessons about infrastructure and risk Jonathan Liebenau, PhD London School of Economics & Columbia University

2. Why an intranet!

3. The problems • Understanding the risks • Varieties of response • Assessing your readiness • Adjusting intranet architecture • Managing perceptions • Accommodating regulators’ expectations

4. The Risks • Valuing information and communication • Types of disasters • Contained • Major fire • Electricity outage • Targeted attack • Local • Neighbourhood or district “lockdown” • Hurricane, earthquake, etc. • National or regional disruption

5. The 1918 flu pandemic killed more people than the First World War

6. Mayfair and Canary Wharf on the Envt. Agency flood map

7. Flood in Chicago’s business district disabled many intranets for 3-15 days

8. Any of these might involve large scale loss of services from critical staff

9. London effectively evacuated on 7 July

10. The argument (1) Indispensable Your intranet is likely to be an indispensable element of corporate communications and data handling.

11. The argument (2) Weak boundaries The boundaries between your intranet and the networks of which it is a part, and indeed the whole world’s network of networks, is fading.

12. The argument (3) Realm of Exchanges Infrastructure is a realm in which many forms of exchange take place. • Most exchanges look like communication functions • Some look like market relations • All are governed by rules and norms that provide enough stability to allow for predictability

13. The argument (4) Innovation is necessary We must accommodate at least enough unpredictability to allow for innovation (or else our systems will stagnate until they are radically superseded).

14. The argument (5) Very high risk A major disruption to your intranet can destroy a very great deal of value.

15. Networks need to be • Diverse • At least two distinct pathways for every action • Redundant • Duplication of very piece of equipment • Transparent • End-users cannot detect transmission differences • Manageable • End users can manage their own telecom services • Scalable • A customer can increase or decrease the amount of data it transmits http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/downloads/pdf/building_a_21_cent_telecom_infrastructure.pdf

16. Lessons from MARC 1 • Risks perceptions ephemeral • Coordination is an active function that needs to be regularly practiced • Voluntary federated systems are govern by norms • They risk suffering “the tragedy of the commons”

17. Intra-organisational coordination is analogous to a “commons” • Govern the disposition of resources • Distribution of responsibilities • Norms and rules for a wide range of property rights conditions and exchange

18. Intranets may be part of “critical infrastructure” • Guidelines for business continuity can be set by government • Effort by the US Security & Exchange Commission to set a 200 mile standard for backup sites • BSI comment on “walking distance” • Any such regulation would be disruptive

19. Conclusions • Intranets are elements of the network of networks • Risk perceptions change for infrastructure • We make commons work all the time. This is one we MUST make work!