EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA – December 18, 2006 – The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and NC4 are pleased to announce a new Program and Committee targeted at reducing operational risk by focusing on situational readiness issues related to physical security and business continuity. The Committee will be composed of physical security and business continuity professionals from FS-ISAC member institutions.

According to Bill Nelson, the Executive Director of the Financial Services ISAC, "the FS-ISAC has been providing tremendous value to the financial services sector and its 2,000 members. In particular, information sharing and analysis of cyber threats, vulnerabilities and incidents through FS-ISAC alerts have set the gold standard in critical infrastructure protection. The FS-ISAC Board of Directors want to extend the value of membership by helping to improve the sector’s readiness in the face of physical threats, vulnerabilities and incidents. The Council will help define the services and direction needed to provide that value.”

The Committee will be comprised of physical security and business continuity industry leaders. This Committee membership will set the objectives and direction for the program aimed at improving the financial services sector situational awareness as well as crisis or disaster prevention, protection, response and recovery.

The FS-ISAC has contracted with NC4 to provide program management and situational readiness support services for the Committee and its members. NC4 consultant, Ed Ludemann, will serve as the Program Manager, reporting to Bill Nelson. “Ed’s background at the FBI, and then as Head of Corporate Security for Chase and then JP Morgan Chase, make him uniquely positioned to work with the corporate security leadership of the leading financial services firms in the U.S.,” said Bill Nelson.

Ed Ludemann added that "in these current times of natural and man-made threats there are two imperatives:

• First, improve the readiness of individual financial services companies.
• Second, improve the readiness of the financial services industry, a key foundation and critical infrastructure for the U.S.

These two challenges will serve as the focal point for this Financial Services Situational Readiness initiative."

Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) were initiated under the Clinton administration as a result of PDD 63 (Presidential Decision Directive). Initially they focused on cyber threats but in a post-9/11 world, physical attacks and threats have become equally important. Various critical infrastructure sectors, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, have developed ISACs to share information and analysis of threats, vulnerabilities and incidents. The Financial Services ISAC is one of the leading ISACs in terms of membership and the value of its services and it works closely with its lead agency, the U.S. Treasury, and its sector coordinating council, the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council.

Editor’s Notes:

For further information about this initiative, please contact Bill Nelson, Executive Director of FS-ISAC at 703-777-2803 or Ed Ludemann, Situation Readiness Program Manager at 917-337-9103.

About The FS-ISAC

Launched in 1999, FS-ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to 1998's Presidential Directive 63. That directive – later updated by 2003's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 – mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure.

Constantly gathering reliable and timely information from financial services providers, commercial security firms, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement and other trusted resources, the FS-ISAC is uniquely positioned to quickly disseminate physical and cyber threat alerts and other critical information to financial services organizations. This information includes analysis and recommended solutions from leading industry experts.

More information about the FS-ISAC can be found at www.fsisac.com

About NC4

NC4, with incident monitoring centers on the east and west coasts of the United States, improves the situational awareness of both business and government clients by providing real-time, 24/7 proactive incident information, alerts and coordination services. NC4 issues timely, relevant and personalized alerts covering incidents near key locations that may impact organizations, operations and the health and safety of individuals.

Additionally, NC4 provides a thorough security solution for diverse organizations to share Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) information through highly secure, compartmented internet accessible portals which include secure forums, messaging and email. As well, NC4 provides sophisticated emergency software to manage the massive amounts of information and collaboration required during major events.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
O’Keeffe & Company, Inc.
Adrienne Osterhuber-Reitz
(703) 883-9000 ext. 131
aosterhuber@okco.com

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