Coronavirus, Ransomware, Contingencies, and Black Swan Events

Abstract

Contingency planning, business continuity, and disaster planning all have at their root the same concept. Coronavirus, ransomware, contingencies, Black Swan events, etc. There are ever increasing numbers of people being infected with the coronavirus on a global basis. Globally, daily lives and businesses have been upended. In 2019 there were more than 70 state and local governments in the United States that suffered ransomware attacks. In addition, the cities of Atlanta and Baltimore have been hit with ransomware attacks that have cost the cities millions of dollars. Unusual, unexpected, against-all-odds events can occur at anytime and anyplace. This concept was made more popular through the writings of Taleb and was labeled as “Black Swan” events. Companies should be concerned with developing plans that will ensure that the business can handle disasters, contingencies, etc. This has been referred to as “Business Continuity”.