Defending Your Business: Risk management and data security become top priorities. (Special Advertising Feature).

As terrorists demonstrate alarming capabilities in their attacks on the United States, companies that do businesses in Latin America are reassessing their risk management and data security policies. From the physical defense of their facilities to the welfare of their employees and the need to protect the integrity of their networks and data, companies of all sizes are making security a top priority.

For example, a pre-September 11 report from Gartner, a U.S. consulting firm, indicated that companies were spending just 0.04 percent of their revenues on data security, a figure the firm said may be inadequate. "People have had it on their to-do list, but it never gets the right priority," says William Mallik, Gartner's research director. "Now there is sufficient information of the possibility and consequences of an event like this to make it a priority."

As for risk management in general, analysts urge Latin American companies to identify potential threats, take immediate countermeasures and have a disaster recovery plan in place -- just in case. Existing plans should be re-evaluated in connection with recent events.

A Gartner report recommends taking the following steps:

* Prepare a business continuity plan to ensure the company can continue to operate after a disaster.

* Be sure that all employees are aware of their roles in the event of a disaster.

* Obtain complete contact information so missing employees can be located.

* Establish a management succession plan.

While protecting people -- whether on site or traveling -- is at the top of the list in any risk management plan, safeguarding corporate networks and data is also a business imperative. Without backup solutions in place, the destruction of a company's network, its customer database or other key information could bring a business' operations to a halt.

Data security includes protecting a company's servers from natural and man-made disasters, such as having a full backup system in place in a separate physical location. A multinational with offices in Brazil, Argentina and Miami, for instance, might send corporate data from one office to the other.

A corporate network must be defended against intruders trying to cause damage or steal sensitive data. Systems must also protect against viruses or worms that can cripple communications, or against "denial of service" attacks designed to bring down the entire system. Information traveling over the company's network must also be safeguarded through encryption.

As a result, demand is growing for better network and data security tools, such as intrusion detection systems, firewalls, antiviral applications and other network monitoring solutions.

Here is a look at what some of the experts are recommending: