The foiling by British security services yesterday of a plot to blow up planes crossing the Atlantic, reportedly within a matter of days, is a timely reminder that the terrorism threat is as real today as it was on September 11, 2001.

And it should also be remembered that Bermuda remains vulnerable to a threat, given the number of flights that come in daily and its close links with both the US and the UK who seem to be the primary targets of al Qaeda.

Bermuda could also be seen as a soft target, given that it is not a major hub and plotters may be under the misapprehension that security will be laxer here than it is elsewhere.

There is little evidence to suggest that that is the case. If anything, anecdotal evidence suggests that Bermuda is tougher on security than some US airports were, at least up until yesterday.

But the fact remains that nowhere is safe. One need only look at the Bali bombings in Indonesia for proof of that. To be sure, Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim nation with its own homegrown terrorist organisations, but it does not seem to matter if a country is a tourist destination or a major city for terrorists to target it.

Bermuda is vulnerable both because it is a tourist destination visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year, and because it is a major centre for reinsurance which provides insurance cover for exactly the kinds of acts that were prevented yesterday.

As such, Bermuda cannot afford to let its guard down.