Pandemic III: Government Backlash

by Ed Yourdon, The Cutter Business Technology Council

Government reaction and backlash to computing pandemics is already underway and is likely to accelerate in the future if there are serious attacks on the nation's critical infrastructure -- or if the threat of such attacks reaches urgent levels because of other forms of terrorism (e.g., bombings or biological/chemical attacks). The possibility of such a backlash will force IT managers to perform urgent risk management exercises ("What happens if they shut down the Internet for a week?") and will almost certainly lead to investment in various backup/alternative communication mechanisms.