NEW SURVEY NAMES CYBERSECURITY, TERRORISM TOP BUSINESS CONTINUITY THREATS

Professionals Certified in Business Continuity Share Upcoming Challenges

NEW YORK - April 20 - Disaster Recovery Institute International ('DRI'), the world's leading business continuity and disaster recovery training organization, today released the results of its recent survey of DRI certified business continuity and disaster recovery professionals. DRI surveyed nearly 250 certified professionals about potential threats in the next five years. Key findings include:

The top concern of certified business continuity professionals is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity was selected as the greatest challenge for business continuity in the next five years by 87 percent of respondents.

Terrorism (53 percent), vendor management (37 percent), resilience (33 percent), and government regulation (31percent) are also top concerns of the experts, ranking next below cyber threats.
Professionals showed that they are eager to learn more about cybersecurity as 63 percent were interested in expanding their knowledge on the topic with additional courses.

"Thanks to emerging technology, cybercriminals are discovering new ways to attack businesses daily. This is why cybersecurity is and should be top of mind for business continuity and resiliency professionals," said Al Berman, DRI president and CEO. "While many organizations are better suited to handle traditional risks, cyber and IT threats -- like data-breaches, data center failures and disruption of online services -- could cripple a business. Continued education on cyber threats and issues is and will continue to be essential for business continuity professionals."

A rise in cyber threats and attacks has spurred the need for cybersecurity to become part of the resilience planning for all businesses and institutions. Since 2010, there have been more than 3 billion complaints of cybercrimes to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Small and large businesses, hospitals, school districts, government agencies, and law enforcement agencies are all possible targets of cybercriminals and should be have a plan in place.

DRI courses are available online, in classrooms and on location at companies and organizations around the world. A free DRI trends report, including information on cyber threats, is available for download at https://is.gd/AEr9sw. Additional information about DRI offerings may be found at: www.drii.org.

About DRI International
DRI International is the non-profit that helps organizations prepare for and recover from disasters. Founded in 1988, DRI International has more than 15,000 certified individuals in over 100 countries, and 93 percent of all Fortune 100 companies employ DRI certified professionals. In fact, more individuals are certified by DRI International than by all other organizations in our profession combined. In addition to certifying individuals, DRI assesses organizations to determine resilience and offers organizational accreditation.

DRI also serves continuity professionals through conferencing, outreach, and volunteerism. The annual DRI Conference brings resilience professionals together to network with experts and collaborate with their peers. Through its Collegiate Conferences series, DRI partners with universities to introduce students and faculty to this rapidly-growing profession. To further its outreach efforts, DRI introduced the 501(c)(3) non-profit Disaster Recovery International (DRI) Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to promote disaster risk reduction through partnership and education, as well as aid recovery efforts through fundraising and volunteerism. The Foundation is also committed to supporting veterans through the Veterans Outreach Program.

As a recognized expert resource, DRI acts in an advisory capacity to organizations and government institutions worldwide, helping to develop professional standards and promote greater resilience. DRI is a member of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's (UNISDR) Private Sector Working Group ARISE Initiative and was on the business and industry delegation to the negotiations of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. DRI is also an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization, a CQI and IRCA Approved Training Partner, and an International Organization Liaison Observer to ISO/TC 292 for standardization in the field of security to enhance the safety and resilience of society. For more information, visit www.drii.org.