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The Scottish Continuity Group said that companies were still not investing in simple contingency measures.

An event in Dundee on Thursday encouraged firms to plan how they would operate in the event of a catastrophe.

The SCG stresses quick decision making, staff safety, continuity and recovery of business operations.

The event in Dundee's Caird Hall took the form of a table-top exercise, allowing businesses to find out how good, or otherwise, their back-up plans were.

I don't think we can discount the fact that we may have home grown terrorism here in Scotland Chief Constable John Vine

Tayside's Chief Constable John Vine underlined the belief that Scotland was no longer immune from terrorist attacks.

He told delegates that simple cost-effective planning was the key to continuity.

Chief Constable Vine said: "I don't think we can discount the fact that we may have home grown terrorism here in Scotland and we have to prepare ourselves as best we can to deal with that eventuality."

SCG spokesman Alan Dawson said: "If you had a flood in somewhere like Broughty Ferry or North Queesnferry or somewhere that's by a river then it would affect those businesses.

"And if those businesses haven't made plans to legislate for that type of eventuality, then how are you going to survive?"

Mr Dawson said the planning exercise stressed that a break-in or fire could be just as catastrophic, particularly if records or archived data were lost.