Navigating Risk Amidst Global Geopolitical Tensions and Uncertainty

For decades, our world was shaped by globalisation and geoeconomics, but only recently has it shifted into one defined by geopolitical risk. Ongoing shocks on society such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East crisis, the rise of far-right populism, culture wars, immigration, climate change, etc., are reshaping global structures and relationships leading to significant realignments for 2025.

While these macro-level issues may be unpredictable and beyond any single nation’s control, businesses still have a choice to focus on factors that are within their influence. Listed below are five key areas where organisations and their risk managers must allocate efforts to navigate these uncertain times.

1. The Supply Chain: Few leaders fully grasped how dependent the world was on Russian natural gas. Similarly, risk managers must never underestimate supply chain security. A supply chain partner bearing a weak cybersecurity posture can leave doors wide open for hacktivists and cyber criminals. Components within security software and hardware may be susceptible to espionage and data leak. Organisations must proactively conduct risk assessments of their supply chain partners and third-party services so that threats can be mitigated appropriately.
2. Sufficient Risk Awareness: Cyber risk is a business risk…