Beefing up: It's a whole new ballgame for corporate security. (Terror Fallout).

In its aftermath, the tragic events of Sept. 11 and the prospect of a drawn-out war against terrorism demand new and more stringent security measures for international businesses. To this end, the local U.S. business community is taking no chances and companies are beefing up security as never before.

According to Rolando Soliz, a U.S. Secret Service agent for 24 years, bodyguard to five U.S. Presidents, and current director of Mexico City security consultancy Vance International, the incident signals the start of a new trend in terrorism. With the citizens of more than 60 nations affected, the World Trade Center attack demonstrates that terrorists are no longer focusing on solely U.S. military or government targets, but on the symbols of global corporate power.

"We have approximately 200 high-profile American companies as clients here in Mexico, and I would say we've had between 50% to 75% of them calling us just to double check and see if their security plan is in accordance with what is taking place. This is prevention--not waiting until after something happens to try to fix it," says Soliz.

Without wishing to generate panic or needless speculation, Soliz believes the international intelligence community recognizes that this initial wave of mass murder attacks might be just the first phase of an overall terror strategy.

Soliz points out that "we in the security community have come to the conclusion that maybe part of their (terrorists') back-up plan would be to focus on a soft country--a country that is not as strong as the United States, and where security is lax."

Needless to say, Mexico is an extremely busy location for the U.S. business community, and commercial travel has been the first bilateral casualty, with air travel between the two nations reducing drastically since the attacks.

"A lot of meetings have been put off. I know that here in Mexico we had five top executives who were coming here for conventions. All of their travel was immediately cancelled so that the security directors in these Fortune 500 companies could reassess security for their presidents, CEOs and executives, as well as for their general personnel," says Rolando.

While some top-level executives may now opt for their own personal chartered flights, this will never be an option for the vast majority of the traveling public, he adds.

"Security will now begin way before the check-in area, even before you get to the counter, as with the Israeli airline El Al. You have to think hard about prevention, because once you get into reaction mode, there are few good options within the confines of a plane."

Drawing on his almost quarter-of-a-century experience guarding U.S. Presidents, Soliz confirms that nightmare scenarios like this have already been taken into consideration in this new risk environment.

"The terrorists were not afraid to die," Soliz points out. "Usually, in other attacks you have the advantage of the fact that the terrorist may not want to die. Therefore, he or she sets up the plan in such a way so as not to be caught. However, this new type of warfare with suicide is much more difficult to defend against, so security is going to be appreciably tighter."

According to Soliz, the United States has now reached an entirely new level of security awareness, one that is here to stay. "(Security) will now be the norm rather than the exception. It's going to be much, much tighter all the way a round from here on out."

RELATED ARTICLE: Suggestions for secretaries: What to do in the case of a bomb threat or suspicious call

* Keep a record of the date and hour that phone calls are made

* For complete information, always ask Who, What, When, How, Where and Why

* Try to maintain the conversation and keep the caller on the line, and find out the motive behind the threat

* Note the following things about the caller's voice: gender, age, accent, vocabulary, background noises

* Prepare a written report, with all the details of the call, including as many of the exact words as possible, and using"...".

* Have a list of the names and phone numbers of those that should be immediately alerted, who would be responsible for evaluating the threat and authorizing what measures should be taken.

* Have a caller identification service and write down the number from where the person is calling. Even if the call ends up being a prank, the person in charge should investigate the calls origin.

Source: IPSA international de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (formerly Problem Solvers)

James Blears is a Mexico City-based freelance writer and a correspondent for Standard Radio News in Mexico.