For years, there have been rumors and speculation about disasters expected in 2012. But neither the Mayans nor Nostradamus can truly predict what the future holds. Every year brings new issues that could handicap unprepared businesses.

In light of this, the Business Continuity Institute published a survey, titled “Horizon Scan 2012”, analyzing the top threats to business continuity for 2012. They collected data from 458 organizations across 49 different countries (USA included) that rated their levels of concern against a range of threats based on their own risk assessments.

According to the survey results, the top five threats of 2012 are:
1. Unplanned IT and telecom outages: 74 percent;
2. Data breach (i.e. loss or theft of confidential information): 68 percent;
3. Cyber attack (e.g. malware, denial of service): 65 percent;
4. Adverse weather (e.g. windstorm/tornado, flooding, snow, drought): 59 percent;  5. Interruption to utility supply (i.e. water, gas, electricity, waste disposal): 56 percent.

To view all the survey results go to: http://www.bcifiles.com/BCIHorizonScan2012.pdf.