Northumbrian Water this month moved to reassure customers after it was revealed the company had been on a state of high alert after a terrorist threat to poison supplies, according to the Newcastle Journal Online.A security warning was issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in response to an “undisclosed and direct” threat last year. The threat came to light at an employment tribunal in Newcastle.
Andrew Hindson, of Washington, was sacked by Northumbrian Water for failing to deal with an alarm set off by an intruder, but he has now withdrawn his claim of unfair dismissal.
The security of water supplies will be one of the subjects addressed in ARC’s new Protecting Critical National Infrastructure Course, 14-18 July 2008. Other subjects to be addressed in the course will be:
· Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodologies
· Establishing Baseline Security Criteria
· Port and Transportation Security
· Food and Drink Supply Chain Security
· The Energy Sector – Special Considerations
· Pipeline Security
· Securing CNI SCADA
· Protection against Explosive Devices
· Emergency Planning
· Crisis Management
· Extortion
· Creating Resilience
· Intelligence and Government Liaison
