Environment-related risks dominate the report for the third year in a row, accounting for three of the top five risks by likelihood and four by impact. Extreme weather is again out on its own in the top-right (high-likelihood, high-impact) quadrant of the Global Risks Landscape 2019. The report can be downloaded here, or go to the WEF website for more information.
A lengthy, but fascinating story on the NotPetya attack:
"In those physics, NotPetya reminds us, distance is no defence. Every barbarian is already at every gate. And the network of entanglements in that ether, which have unified and elevated the world for the past 25 years, can, over a few hours on a summer day, bring it to a crashing halt."
This year in Australia, the impact of severe weather has been primarily interruptions to power supplies. Darwin suffered a Category 2 cyclone in March which resulted in the Insurance Council declaring a Catastrophe for the area. Although most buildings avoided serious damage – large parts of Darwin were without power for many days – primarily because of trees falling onto power lines.
We tend to underestimate our reliance on reliable power. Although many businesses in Darwin were lucky to escape physical damage, having no power for several weeks can have a substantial impact on business operations. The rapid trend towards “Touch and Pay” in retail outlets, means that fewer people carry cash and a power outage has a much bigger impact than when “cash was king”. Is your business dependent on a thriving retail channel?
A similar storm impacted Perth in early June, resulting in power outages to 10,000 homes.
In the Northern Hemisphere, they have experienced an extraordinary summer.
High temperature and low rainfall records have been broken in many countries. Raging fires have impacted California through to Greece. If you have any lingering doubts about the extent of the heat wave – this article provides an amazing summary of what’s been happening this summer.
The impacts have been diverse. Power supplies have been interrupted because of demand increases due to the increased use of air conditioners, whilst the efficiency of the power plants decreases with higher temperatures. Some power plants had insufficient cooling water or the river water used for cooling was too warm!
When a blistering heat wave struck the Southland region in California earlier this month, the region’s electric grid was so overwhelmed that more than 100,000 customers in Los Angeles had at some point lost power. Some went days without electricity. Here in Australia, the power distributors will load shed by shutting down power supplies to whole suburbs.
No doubt in the coming weeks, we will read about the human impact of the heatwaves. In past heatwaves, vulnerable people died from the heat. Unlike Australians, Europeans are unused to these high temperatures and often are unaware of the dangers of heat exposure and the effects of dehydration.
Cybercrime is a growing industry and the finance sector is regarded a key target. Despite the growing threat and inevitability of an attack, APRA says there are still financial institutions that have not tested how they would cope with a cyber attack.
In response to the growing threat of a cyber attack, APRA on Wednesday released its first prudential standard on information security (still in draft format), which will set minimum standards for how the sector handles cyber risks.
Institutions will be required to undertake regular testing of their cyber defences, have robust systems in place to detect threats, and set out which senior staff are responsible for cyber security. The discussion paper can be found here.
"Implementing legally binding minimum standards on information security is aimed at increasing the safety of the data Australians entrust to their financial institutions and enhance overall system stability," Mr Summerhayes said.
Threats. Disruptions. Trends. There’s a lot to consider when putting together a business continuity plan. But what are the biggest risks facing your organization right now? Are we all worrying about the right things?
The Horizon Scan Report 2017 answers these questions and more. Created in association with BSI, it reflects the views of business continuity professionals in 726 organizations across 79 countries. Now in its sixth year, the report delivers insight that helps organizations plan for any challenging conditions coming their way, and to thrive in the long-term.
