SEC400 Vulnerabilites Assessment

Vulnerabilities Assessment

SEC400 Vulnerabilities Assessment

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Vulnerabilities Assessment

Wal-Mart is a large organization that has locations across the globe. With thousands of locations the possibility of a natural or manmade disaster or informational technological threats is great. The sheer size of the Wal-Mart company makes them more vulnerable to a disaster than the average organization. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses in the security of an organization that might be exploited or at greater risk in the event of a disaster. The vulnerability assessment alerts the organization to the potential threats in order to ensure a plan can be put into place to reduce this threat as well as effectively respond to this threat.

In many cases Wal-Mart provides a valuable service in the community in which it is located. The store provides one store shopping and may be the only department store available in the area. When the local Wal-Mart’s affected by a disaster the members of the community can be affected. A threat exploiting a vulnerability resulting in the partial or total loss of one or more business assets constitutes a major business impact for Wal-Mart locations (Olzak, 2007). In order to be equipped to overcome these hazards in the event they occur Wal-Mart must first conduct a vulnerabilities assessment in order to determine what areas can be improve to reduce the impact.

There are many different types of vulnerabilities associated with informational, technological, natural, and human-made threats that can directly impact Wal-Mart. There are many different natural disasters that can create major problems for the organization that include earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, cyclones, tsunamis and wildfires while manmade disasters such as nuclear disasters, oil spills, and terrorism threaten organizations like Wal-Mart. The challenges created in the event of an informational or technological disaster involves loss of communication, loss of private information, financial loss, and collapse of infrastructure.

Each of these natural hazards can result in major damage and challenges for the Wal-Mart organization. The types of threats include damage and loss of property, loss of human life, loss of product, store closings, and loss of profit to name a few. The type of vulnerabilities that would face an organization such as Wal-Mart includes the displacement of people in the community and company employees. When employees are displaced then the Wal-Mart location loses its staff members and its ability to operate. This happened in Katrina for Wal-Mart locations in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi where the area faced such great destructions that staff members are no longer able to come to work so then Wal-Mart cannot operate its store. The inability to operate the store location due to lack of employees will result in financial loss and an ability of the location to meet the needs of the local community.

Natural and manmade disaster can also result in damage to property which could cease operations or create financial loss. When a Wal-Mart location has been damaged goods in the store become damaged as well as vital operating equipment. Damage to the property can also result in loss from looting or a need to donate or give away product instead of it being wasted when it spoils. The natural and manmade disaster can in worst case scenarios result in the loss of life. This loss of life can impact store operations but can also impact the employees. When the organization experiences a loss it impacts everyone in the organization and can lower employee morale and motivation which impacts production.

The technological and informational disaster has a different type of impact to the organization one type of technological disaster is the loss of the private information of the Wal-Mart company. Consumers expect organization such as Wal-Mart to keep their private information secure from loss and any breaches into the private information could have devastating effects. For example Wal-Mart’s pharmacy stores the private medical and personal information of their customer. If the private information of the customer were to be breached the consumer could face great loss due to fraud while the organization could face damage to their reputation.

Vulnerabilities associated with personnel and work behaviors as a result of the natural, manmade, technological, and informational disasters also make the organization vulnerable. For example in the event of a natural or manmade disaster the employee may fear coming to work which will result in a high number of employees calling out and not coming to work. If there are no employees the store location can operate properly. The same would be true if the manmade or natural disaster caused mass damage in the community. People are less likely to come to work if there is a threat to their safety and well being. The type of most significant vulnerabilities for the organization include the proximity to the hazard, understanding of hazard, construction and building designs, availability and readiness of emergency infrastructures, and employee response to hazard.

Other behavior that the security staff must be alerted to is the potential of loss through theft. In the event of a disaster some citizens in society might choose to take advantage of other peoples pain or suffering or the organizations weakness due to the disaster and loot. Security personnel will be short because of the disaster and the threat will be far greater. Security measures put into place may not be adequate once the disaster has occurred leaving the Wal-Mart location vulnerable to all types of threats. In some cases no matter what steps are taken the store location will be vulnerable to external threats due to the extreme damage.

The next vulnerability that must be addressed by the organization is the transportation vulnerability; in order for Wal-Mart stores to operate they need goods. These goods are transported from distribution centers and are an important part of the organization supply chain. When the product cannot be delivered not only is the store itself affected but the entire supply chain which includes the manufacturer, distributer, and the transporter. Transportation is essential to the store in the event of disaster either to get products in or to get products out as well as to transport employees or members of the community that require assistance.

Wal-Mart stores are located in every social strata and every type of economic environment. There are locations in poverty stricken areas as well as location in high end communities. While there is less of a threat of loss form security lapses in the high end community in the event of a disaster all citizen no matter how rich or poor may become desperate enough to loot the local market in order to obtain the necessary supplies to survive. In more poverty stricken areas the threat of loss due to theft is greater and will require more vigilant security measures to be put into place.

Wal-Mart stores are generally located in areas where there are other businesses the vulnerabilities associated with neighboring businesses involves their ability to better respond in the event of a disaster and meet the needs of desperate community members which will result in a loss of loyal customers for the Wal-Mart location. Other vulnerabilities include the failure of the neighboring business to take the necessary security measures to prevent loss in the event of a disaster resulting in a high threat to the Wal-Mart store location. For example if the location is attached to the Wal-Mart location and the threat is able to access the Wal-Mart location due to the failure of the neighboring business.

Security officials determine vulnerabilities to natural, human-made, and technological threats by conducting a risk and hazard assessment designed to alert the organization to these vulnerabilities. The risk assessment to identifying the vulnerabilities and assisting the organization actively identifying and addressing the causes and reduce the threats and the risks to the organizations security (Kunreuther, 2002). The hazard assessment will educate the management on the potential hazards the organization faces. The risk and hazard assessments will assist developing an effective response plan for supporting and facilitating the organizations responses to such security challenges that materialize when hazards occur.

Hazard assessments inform the management to when and where hazardous processes have occurred in the past and provide data on the magnitude of the physical effects of past hazardous events (Nelson, 2011). The organization can learn about the frequency of these events and the severity of the consequences if the disaster where to impact one of the Wal-Mart locations as well as the available resources in the event the hazard where to surface. The risk assessment will alert the organization to potential security vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities in the infrastructure, geographical areas with the greatest impact, potential exposure to the physical effects of a hazardous situation and vulnerability of surrounding community.

References

Kunreuther, H. (2002). Risk Analysis and Risk Management in an Uncertain World. Risk

Analysis, 22(4), 655-664.

Nelson, S. (2011). Natural Disasters & Assessing Hazards and Risk. Retrieved September 23,

2012 from http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol204/introduction.htm

Olzak, T. (2007). Use risk management for reasonable information asset protection. Retrieved

September 23, 2012 from

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/use-risk-management-for-reasonable-information