Pinkerton Insights Podcast | Week of August 6, 2018

Hazard and Event Risks

• A glacial wave has hit central and north Peru since June 2018 and has caused significant losses all across the country.
• The national weather agency Meteo France extended a heatwave alert from 19 departments to 34 as temperatures continued to rise in most of eastern and southern France.
• In the Philipines, militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf terror group attacked a military checkpoint in the southern region with a van loaded with explosives.

Technology and Information Risk

• Recently, Microsoft announced that in January-March 2018, a multi-tier attack against supply chains was detected in a PDF editor.
• Recently, a group of security researchers discovered a new Spectre-class vulnerability that can be launched over the network.
• A new version of AZORult information stealer and downloader is being used by cyber-criminals in an email phishing campaign since it became available on July 17.

Operational and Physical Risks

• On August 2 in Chile, workers at the Escondida mine; the largest copper mine worldwide, approved going on strike after rejecting the company's salary offer.
• The National Water Commission (CONAGUA) has announced that the heat wave recorded in Mexico since June has caused a severe drought in the country, especially in the states of Sonora, Puebla, Mexico, Queretaro, Michoacan, and Oaxaca.
• In the United States, the Journal of Commerce published an article discussing the effects of transportation shortages and rate increases on major U.S. manufacturers’ recently released earnings results.
• On July 31, 2018, engine maker Cummins, Inc. announced the recall of 770,000 trucks due to faulty pollution controls. These trucks were made in 2010-2015 and include big pickups, utility trucks, and semi-trucks.

Market and Economic Risks

• Responding on August 2, 2018, to new sanctions laid on by the Trump administration over Turkey’s detention and trial of a U.S. citizen for aiding terrorism, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said the sanctions are unacceptable – but that they will have little economic effect on Turkey.
• The bureaucratic challenges to doing business in Ethiopia continue to persist despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s attempts at liberalizing the economy and promoting trade.
• Germany's government initiated legislation changes that aim to curb tax evasion by online sellers by making Internet platforms liable.