Book excerpt: Preparedness is the best weapon against terrorism Understanding, Assessing, and Responding to Terrorism: Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Personnel gives a detailed explanation of how to implement preventive and/or protective measures to ensure the safety of personnel and facilities. It includes: Easily customized templates for the vulnerability analysis, security procedures, emergency response procedures, and training programs Vulnerability assessment methodologies and formulas for prioritizing targets Coverage of critical infrastructure sectors, hard targets, and soft targets, such as hotels, places of worship, and commercial districts Countermeasures for terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction with coverage of chemical, biological, radiological/nuclear, and explosive materials A seven-step Security Vulnerability Analysis (SVA) process to identify and categorize critical infrastructure, key resources, and key assets Information on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that enables all public, private, and non-governmental organizations to work together effectively to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents Numerous case studies and examples A practical, how-to book with step-by-step processes to help reduce risks from terrorist attacks, this is a must-have reference for private and public sector risk managers, safety engineers, security professionals, facility managers, emergency responders, and others charged with protecting facilities and personnel.