Pinkerton Insights Podcast

Hazard and Event Risks: Last week, U.S. intelligence sources claim that for the first time China has installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems in outposts in the Spratly Islands, South China Sea (SCS) in the last 30 days. According to recent reports, the air quality in Melbourne continued to deteriorate as smoke and haze cover most of the city. According to information released by the World Health Organization (WHO), Venezuela has the largest increase in cases of malaria in the world: the number has increased tenfold since 2010. TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION RISKS: Per reports, a new updated version of the GravityRAT malware evades detection by checking the current central processing unit (CPU) temperature. In recent days, cyber-attackers have tried to penetrate Mexicos electronic payment system. The situation has forced at least three banks to execute contingency plans after suffering several incidents. The Colombian National Police and the Center for Cyber Security have reported

Highlights of this week's Pinkerton Insights Podcast: - Per media reports on April 16, 2018, due to lack of funds in Tunisia the government has been criticized and blamed by the Tunisian General Labour Union (TGLU) for the deterioration of the economy. - On April 18, Puerto Rico suffered a new massive power outage leaving the entire island without electricity. Hazard and Event Risks: - The Public Health Agency of Canada announced that a total of 126 cases of gastrointestinal illness from mid-March to early April 2018 associated with the consumption of raw oysters had been confirmed. - According to information released by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the vaccination campaign in Brazil against yellow fever is far below its targets, with more than 10 million people who had been considered for vaccination not yet vaccinated. Market and Economic Risks: - In South Africa the chief financial officer of state-owned ports and rail utility company, Transnet SOC Ltd., has resigned over graft allegations; Garry Pita

Highlights from this week's Pinkerton Insights Podcast: Technology and Information Risks: -Per reports on April 11, 2018, a new malware, disguised as a browser update, is spreading through hacked websites. Pinkerton finds that the malware is likely to target businesses that visit websites that use the Squarespace, Joomla, and WordPress content management systems. - Researchers have identified a new threat vector involving insecure radio frequency (RF) communication protocol controls of public emergency threat (siren) systems. - On April 12, 2018, a security investigator of the CERT Coordination Center disclosed a vulnerability of Microsoft Outlook. Operational and Physical Risks: - A recent article posted in the Journal of Commerce (JOC) stated that the U.S. tariffs on imports from China would impact roughly 7% of the total U.S. container trade with China or a total of 2.5% of total U.S. container trade volume. - Per reports on April 9, 2018, the shipping industry is likely to impose carbon emission curbs fol

Highlights from this week's Pinkerton Insights Podcast: Hazard and Event Risks - Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the dissolution of parliament as of Saturday, two months before his five-year term ends. - Authorities in Moscow have declared a “high alert” for residents in Volokolamsk following the release of toxic fumes from the Yadrovo landfill located approximately 120km (74.5mi) from Moscow. - According to the Pan-American Health Organization, there have been 886 measles cases in Venezuela since June 2017. From those cases, 159 were registered in the first months of 2018. Market and Economic Risks - In Indonesia, the government has decided to postpone the new trade rules for coal and palm oil shipping until 2020. - Per media reports last week, the fuel crisis in Sudan has affected the whole country, including the capital city Khartoum. - In Ecaudor, Minister of Economy, Maria Elsa Viteri confirmed that due to the economic crisis facing the country, the authorities wo

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. Operational and pHysical Risks: - Last last week, the Zimbabwe Nurses Association has announced that nurses and support staff at public hospitals will join the ongoing doctors’ strike. - Per reports this month from Malaysia, at least 2,000 Chinese shops and 400 Indian-Muslim and banana leaf restaurants shut down in 2017 due to a lack of workforce. - In Venezuela this month, residents of Barinas, Merida, Portuguesa, Tachira, Trujillo, and the Apoori have reported both power outages and water shortages. market and economic risks: - The European Commission is ready to present a three-pronged digital tax as early as this week. It aims to target revenues rather than profits and calls for countries to be strict with cases of tax avoidance by tech companies especially in France, Germany, and Great Britain. - Last week, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa opposed the signing of 27 cont

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. Market and Economic Risks: - Per reports, the Indonesian government has announced that it will implement a new set of rules to battle money laundering and terrorism financing. - During the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention (PDAC) that took place on March 4-7, 2017, the Argentinian Mining Minister stated that the Federal Government is working with local governments to lift the prohibition of open pit mining before the end of the year. - Per reports, German metalworkers’ union IG Metall has struck a deal with the car manufacturer Mercedes Benz, which will allow employees associated with the union to have 28-hour work weeks for a two-year period. - On March 1, 2018, the Canadian government announced that they would be ending their contract with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) for their broken payroll system, Phoenix. hazard and event risks: - Per repor

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. Operational and Physical Risks: - Per reports from New Zealand, workers of the Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) are likely to stage a six-day strike from March 8. The strike will be the largest industrial action in South Island in recent years. - Peru’s Public Health System National Syndicate has an undefined strike beginning on April 12, 2018, if their requirements are not met. - In the United States, health officials in Coloardo’s Weld County have reported 21 confirmed Salmonella cases from five different counties. The counties are Adams, Boulder, Larimer, Morgan, and Weld. - In POLAND, the governor of the North West Region has extended a curfew restricting movement of persons and property from 8pm to 6am local time. The decision applies to both the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions. hazard and event risks: - Per media sources last last week in Australia, a third casualty has b

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. technology and information risks: - Per media reports on February 16, 2018, new ransomware called Saturn has been discovered that can encrypt files on an infected server. - In recent days, Digita Security cyber consultant reported it had just identified a Trojan virus that has been operating since 2016, Coldroot. - As reported on February 15, 2018, cyber-security researchers with NewSky Security identified a new Internet-of-Things (IoT) botnet. hazard and event risks: - On February 18, 2018, approximately 10,000 supporters of opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvil marched in 26 cities in Ukraine, demanding the impeachment of Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko. - Per reports on February 21, 2018, four Indonesian provinces, Riau, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and Central Kalimantan have declared disaster alerts for land and forest fires. - In recent days, Petroleos Mexicanos Company (PEMEX) c

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition: Hazard and event risks: - Per reports, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection warned of severe air pollution in some regions of the country during current Lunar New Year period. The Lunar New Year celebrations, that began February 15 and last 15 days. - The Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) announced that it would vote to strike tomorrow, February 20. The decision to strike was made following the release of a report written by a Nova Scotia government consultant recommending the removal of elected school boards from Nova Scotia’s public schools, as well as the exclusion of school administrators from the NSTU. - Mexico’s Ministry of Interior issued an alert last week in seven states after a radioactive source was stolen from a car belonging to an engineering firm in Leon. Authorities, emergency crews, and civil protection units are l

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition:  technology and information risks: - Per reports on February 6, 2018, a researcher at Google’s Project Zero found a flaw in Grammarly that would allow cyber-criminals access to user data. - On February 5, the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, a city regulatory body that governs election conduct, accused Facebook of violating a city law requiring disclosure of political and election ad purchases. - On February 8, 2018, the source code of the March 2016 iOS 9.3 iBoot, Apple’s iOS secure bootloader, was discovered leaked online on GitHub. - Per media reports, Cloud-Access Security Broker (CASB) Bitglass detected new ransomware, called SherL0ck, which was able to bypass Google Drive's and Microsoft Office 365’s cloud antivirus protections. operational and physical risks: - On February 1, 2018, the Supreme Court of the Maldives ordered

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition:  hazard and event risks: - Per reports last week, the police in Aceh province, a semi-autonomous region in northwest Indonesia, “publicly shamed” and detained at least 12 members of the LGBT community; human rights groups have criticized these actions. - According to the U.S. State Department, 19 U.S. civilians who vacationed in Cuba since September 29, have reported the same sort of experiences and symptoms that U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana experienced from late 2016 through August 2017. - Late last month in Colombia, a police station in the San Jose neighborhood, in the city of Barranquilla, suffered a terrorist attack which left five police officers dead and injured 42 others. Technology and information risks: - Per reports on February 1, a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player 28.0.0.137 and earlier versions has been e

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition: hazard and event risks: - On Monday last week, thousands of Bolivians took to the streets to protest against President Evo Morales’ attempt to get re-elected for a fourth consecutive term. - In Honk Kong, a health risk warning was issued as the Environmental Protection Department said that the pollution level was "higher than normal." - Per reports on January 25, the water level in Cape Town, South Africa’s main dam is lower than expected. operational and physical risks: - Per reports on January 22, 2018, crew members of TAP Air Portugal have announced that they will partake in a strike from February 9-11, unless an agreement is reached between the government and the airline regarding fair working conditions. - In the United States, information about the State of Maine’s 2017 report on tick-borne illnesses was published. 2017 was the reco

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition: hazard and event risks: - In Mexico, local media reported a wave of violence in the states of Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Veracruz that took place during the first two weeks of the current year. - The only functioning airport in the Libyan capital of Tripoli reopened recently after a 5-day closure caused by deadly clashes that left passenger jets damaged. - Per reports, the explosion and sinking of the Iranian oil tanker Sanchi earlier this month in the East China Sea, poses environmental and health risks in the near to medium term, as it will likely affect marine ecology and fishery in the area. operational and physical risks: - In Brazil, media have reported a risk situation regarding the two major nuclear power plants located at Angra dos Reis, near the Rio de Janeiro coastline. - Per reports last week, the Nigerian militant group, Nige

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. hazard and event risks: - According to media reports, a burning Iranian oil tanker exploded and sank Sunday after more than a week listing off the coast of China. - In Colombia last week, President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed the end of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the guerrilla movement of the National Liberation Army. Market and Economic Risks: - Per reports from India last week, the Indian Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) proposed a 70% safeguard duty on solar imports from China stating that the excessive imports were causing “serious injury” to the domestic market. - On January 5, in Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro announced the issuance of 100 million units of a new digital currency known as "Petro." - Per reports on January 10, 2018, Germany is likely to demand that the UK make substantial financial contributions to the EU budget and adhere to European

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition: market and economic risks: - Per reports, the U.S. will continue to withhold military aid worth $288 million to Pakistan as it reviews the “level of cooperation” that Pakistani officials are undertaking to fight terrorism. - China has tightened rules on overseas cash withdrawals to clamp down on money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing. - More information about possibly widening the recall of Ford vehicles was released early last week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating adding up to 1.4 million Ford vehicles to a 2016 recall. - A jury found Turkish banking executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla guilty of facilitating fraudulent commodities transactions for the Iranian government to circumvent U.S. sanctions. technology and information risks: - In a report published on January 2, named “Trackmageddon,”

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition: technology and information risks: - Last week, news outlets expanded on cyber-security researcher Michael Myng’s blog post about a keylogger found in Hewlett Packard’s (HP) Synaptics Touchpad software. - According to a survey conducted by CyberArk, a cyber-security firm, it is common for companies to not “fully” inform clients of data breaches that may have compromised clients’ details. - Researchers have confirmed that a group called Sowbug developed a malware aimed at attacking and spying mainly on government entities in South America and Southeast Asia. operational and physical risks: - In Singapore, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (or AVA) has temporarily restricted the import of poultry products from an area in the Netherlands, following reports of a bird flu outbreak at a duck farm in Biddinghuizen. - Per reports in the UK, t

Each week, we break down international news into our four quadrants of risk and present ways to mitigate those risks. See below for the key issues from this week’s edition: market and economic risks: - The EU recently announced a blacklist consisting of 17 countries deemed as tax havens. The list is a response to the Panama and Paradise Papers that revealed extensive tax evasion schemes by companies and individuals. - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced last week that the country would make changes to laws governing espionage, counter-intelligence, and political donations to prevent external interference in domestic politics. - The  State Council of the People's Republic of China has issued new regulations that extend the powers of its security apparatus and elaborated on acts punishable under its counter-espionage law that was implemented in 2014. hazard and event risks: - In Columbia, according to media reports, at least 71 people from about six different communities in the hamlet of Puebl