According to Ila Brown, director of Interagency Communications at the Office of Homeland Security, 85 percent of the critical infrastructure in the United States is owned by the private sector. Recovery and response efforts in a time of crisis, therefore, must involve the private sector.
"Effective communication between government and the private sector, and among business leaders themselves, is critical for our nation's ability to detect future threats, maintain homeland security and respond effectively when disaster occurs," said John Schachter, spokesman for the Washington-based Business Roundtable, an organization of 150 of America's top CEOs.
In an emergency like Sept. 11, traditional modes of communication often break down. In the first hours after the terrorist attacks, New York's landline phone system was in tatters and nearly every cellular network was filled to capacity. It is estimated that millions of callers simply could not get through, including some of the highest-ranking federal officials.
After a meeting last November between about 40 members of the Business Roundtable and Office of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, the Business Roundtable formed a Security and Economic Recovery Task Force under the leadership of AT&T CEO Mike Armstrong to tackle this and other emergency related problems.
Part of the concern expressed by Business Roundtable Chairman John T. Dillon, chairman and CEO of International Paper, were the issues of safety and economic security. The CEOs that comprise the Business Roundtable run companies that employ 10 million Americans and generate $3.5 trillion in annual revenues.
"From a business perspective we are concerned about the ramifications on domestic and international commerce," said Dillon when the security task force was announced. "This new effort will focus on the security of our employees and their families, our workplaces and our key buildings and structures -- gas pipelines, telecommunications networks, power plants, energy grids and more -- that face these new threats from terrorism."
Recognizing that homeland security is inextricably linked with national economic security, the task force rapidly developed a number of subcommittees and working groups to accomplish a series of objectives:
- Improve the quality and timeliness of threat information.
- Develop new models of corporate leadership and collaboration.
- Assess and improve existing security partnerships.
- Develop new models for risk management and business continuity.
- Work effectively with senior government leadership.
- Coordinate efforts across our industry sectors as homeland security issues evolve.
"We need to work within and across industry sectors and with all levels of government to protect our employees and customers, our assets and our ability to maintain a vibrant, healthy U.S. economy," emphasized Armstrong at the outset of the task force.
Timely Information
One tangible outcome of the task force has been the establishment of a secure communications network that will enable Roundtable CEOs and businesses-at-large to communicate quickly, efficiently and securely with each other and with senior national leaders in the event of a national crisis similar to Sept. 11.
With AT&T taking the lead and funding coming from Roundtable members, the Critical Emergency Operations Link, or CEO Com Link, as it has been dubbed, is primarily a secure telephone network with some Internet capabilities. "We are not giving out a great many details concerning its operation for security reasons," said Schachter.
Critics of the move have charged that the network is self-serving, designed to better protect the CEOs own companies in times of threat. However, such criticisms are shortsighted according to Schachter.
"While there is obvious concern over security either within individual companies, the concern is also security more broadly across the country," he said. "The issue really is timely and effective information sharing and threat information -- getting information from the government in times of crisis as well as sharing information with the government and sharing information with other companies and businesses to analyze what the threats are and the best ways are to respond."
"The goal is to share information," said Schachter, "with the aim of ensuring the future safety of the millions of Americans that our companies employ, and the millions of people living in the various communities that might be under threat."
Schachter cites examples that Roundtable CEOs have given from Sept. 11 where in New York and Washington, at the sites of the terrorist attacks, certain products and goods were urgently needed. Boots of rescue workers, for example, were melting off their feet. "Our members run large companies and they produce almost everything you can imagine," said Schachter. "So the question was for many of them, 'Where are our goods and services needed to help during this crisis.' And the problem was the information was not readily flowing. The CEOs did not know what was needed, when it was needed and where it was needed. Many of them learned, quite frankly, what was needed by watching CNN."
Today, with the establishment of CEO Com Link, someone from the federal government or the Office of Homeland Security is able to coordinate emergency response help that major corporations could offer.
"We want to get the information from the key government officials so that we can assist in times of crisis," said Schachter. "Similarly, we want to hear from the federal government when, what and where threats exist.
"On Sept. 11, for example, there were a lot of companies that were poised both for business purposes and for helpful reasons with fleets of airplanes that could have assisted," he said. "But they didn't find out right away for many hours that the air traffic was going to be completely shut down. So if we can coordinate now with the CEO Com Link quickly and efficiently with the federal government, we can respond accordingly to help in the event of a future crisis."
Initially, the CEO Com Link has established a secure hotline between the Business Roundtable member companies and the Office of Homeland Security because, as Schachter puts it, "We have to start somewhere."
But ultimately the goal is to build the network however it can be most responsive in times of crisis. "We foresee that this will include state and local officials, as needed, depending upon the type of crisis," said Schachter. "There are also other businesses and other sectors. But for now, we are starting with our own companies and the federal government."
Broader Security Objectives
As far as Roundtable CEOs are concerned, the CEO Com Link really is only one part of a larger security initiative that embraces three general areas of focus. The first is to anticipate and detect threats: to proactively contribute to preparedness with information sharing, awareness and enhancement of security. The second is to better protect and defend: to be the first line of defense in coordination with key government officials and agencies. And the third is to respond and recover, and to help mitigate and minimize the impact of any future attack.
Toward such broad goals, one of the other Security Task Force work groups is concentrating on crisis communication. "We are identifying and distributing to our members various models for improving corporate security planning and corporate communications and best practices of what does work in times of crisis," explained Schachter.
The challenge is security coordination across multiple business communities. Sept. 11 highlighted the importance of industry-wide collaboration for managing risk and improving security as well as better coordination with government agencies.
As Dillon put it when he initially launched the Security Task Force, "In light of Sept. 11, chief executive officers are dealing with new realities in how we conduct our business and help keep Americans working safely and securely."
According to Schachter, the result as seen in the CEO Com Link has been a classic public- and private-sector partnership that can only help, largely through better information sharing, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the safety of America and Americans.
