IW: How do your members apply information like this that comes from DHS?

JC: I'm not sure I can give a blanket answer. Each firm has its own mechanisms for gathering information. Risk-management professionals at these firms read the paper and understand the military conflicts and they're mindful of that. They take it into account when they have employees traveling. They'll monitor where they are. With the [bird flu] pandemic issue, firms were monitoring that closely and trying to figure out what impact it would have on their organizations.

IW: Is there a danger from these warnings of creating a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" situation, where firms begin to disregard the warnings?

JC: There's always a concern about the crying-wolf syndrome. But our firms appreciate getting the information even if it's not corroborated. A continuous flow of information helps build trust between the private and public sectors.

IW: Was this warning about the jihadist threat something that your members see all the time, or was this an unusual kind of warning from DHS?