Geopolitical and economic risks
● Threats to individuals and businesses:
- Hacking, identity theft and the implications of surveillance for personal freedoms
○ Hacking: online/computer hacking to steal people’s information and personal data
■ Example: UK NHS (national health service) in 2017, cancellation of 7000
appointments and loss of ⅓ patients’ information
○ Identity theft: range of crimes to theft of credit cards, acquisition of identity-related
through phishing
■ Technology has increased risks of fraud → contactless payment methods
increases the vulnerability of personal security
○ Financial fraud
■ Email or call from banks asking for details - phishing
■ Logging into the internet via Wifi → personal information websites should not be
searched - interception
■ Trojans - viruses hacking into the computer, suspicious websites
○ Global warranty attacks
■ Hackers exploited a backdoor in older versions of the Windows - spread across
○ E.g. ransomware
■ Software used to encrypt files and demand payment to unlock them
■ Hyperlink from unknown individual → downloads fake update to the software
■ Threats
● Whether you make the payment or not make the payment, they would be
at an advantage since they would either lose money or their data
● Money involved is a large sum, individuals have to pay 1500 and a
hospital had to pay 17000 to fully recover
○ Surveillance for personal freedoms
■ CCTV cameras, hacking computers, stealing personal information
■ Disadvantage
● Invade people’s privacy
● Take all the benefits of internet away such as freedom and convenience
of communication
● Constant fear of citizens → lower standards of living
● Could be misused → targeting specific races, ethnicities to investigate
something that is completely unlinked to terrorist activities
■ Advantage
● Easier to fight towards crime
● Less victims of terrorists
, - Political, economic and physical risks to global supply chain flows
○ Environmental impacts of Tsunamis in Japan
● New and emerging threats to the political and economic sovereignty of states:
- Profit repatriation and tax avoidance by TNCs and wealthy individuals
○ Corporate tax avoidance in the UK
■ Many firms relocating their factories/headquarters go Ireland because the tax rate
is so much lower → completely legal
■ No need for physical stores due to online shopping
■ Apple, amazon NOT paying the amount of tax that is supposed to be paid with
respect to their profit
■ Wealthy people have the money to relocate themselves from a highly taxed area
to a low tax area
○ Disadvantages of tax avoidance
■ Less government revenue → undeveloped infrastructure
■ Leakages to other economies
- Disruptive technological innovations, such as drones and 3D printing
○ Applications of drones;
■ 3D digital modelling which can be exported to different formats such as PDF,
google earth and 3DS
■ Geo referenced surveys
■ 4K high resolution inspections
■ Site planning, modelling, surveillance
■ Volume calculations
■ Thermal inspections
○ Advantages of drones;
■ Reaching high points where people cannot easily reach
■ Economic sovereignty → cyber aspects, duplication
■ Missile - infringement - privacy
■ Man Manpower - needed less, job loss
● Threats to individuals and businesses:
- Hacking, identity theft and the implications of surveillance for personal freedoms
○ Hacking: online/computer hacking to steal people’s information and personal data
■ Example: UK NHS (national health service) in 2017, cancellation of 7000
appointments and loss of ⅓ patients’ information
○ Identity theft: range of crimes to theft of credit cards, acquisition of identity-related
through phishing
■ Technology has increased risks of fraud → contactless payment methods
increases the vulnerability of personal security
○ Financial fraud
■ Email or call from banks asking for details - phishing
■ Logging into the internet via Wifi → personal information websites should not be
searched - interception
■ Trojans - viruses hacking into the computer, suspicious websites
○ Global warranty attacks
■ Hackers exploited a backdoor in older versions of the Windows - spread across
○ E.g. ransomware
■ Software used to encrypt files and demand payment to unlock them
■ Hyperlink from unknown individual → downloads fake update to the software
■ Threats
● Whether you make the payment or not make the payment, they would be
at an advantage since they would either lose money or their data
● Money involved is a large sum, individuals have to pay 1500 and a
hospital had to pay 17000 to fully recover
○ Surveillance for personal freedoms
■ CCTV cameras, hacking computers, stealing personal information
■ Disadvantage
● Invade people’s privacy
● Take all the benefits of internet away such as freedom and convenience
of communication
● Constant fear of citizens → lower standards of living
● Could be misused → targeting specific races, ethnicities to investigate
something that is completely unlinked to terrorist activities
■ Advantage
● Easier to fight towards crime
● Less victims of terrorists
, - Political, economic and physical risks to global supply chain flows
○ Environmental impacts of Tsunamis in Japan
● New and emerging threats to the political and economic sovereignty of states:
- Profit repatriation and tax avoidance by TNCs and wealthy individuals
○ Corporate tax avoidance in the UK
■ Many firms relocating their factories/headquarters go Ireland because the tax rate
is so much lower → completely legal
■ No need for physical stores due to online shopping
■ Apple, amazon NOT paying the amount of tax that is supposed to be paid with
respect to their profit
■ Wealthy people have the money to relocate themselves from a highly taxed area
to a low tax area
○ Disadvantages of tax avoidance
■ Less government revenue → undeveloped infrastructure
■ Leakages to other economies
- Disruptive technological innovations, such as drones and 3D printing
○ Applications of drones;
■ 3D digital modelling which can be exported to different formats such as PDF,
google earth and 3DS
■ Geo referenced surveys
■ 4K high resolution inspections
■ Site planning, modelling, surveillance
■ Volume calculations
■ Thermal inspections
○ Advantages of drones;
■ Reaching high points where people cannot easily reach
■ Economic sovereignty → cyber aspects, duplication
■ Missile - infringement - privacy
■ Man Manpower - needed less, job loss
