ISJ Influencers 2022- Malcolm Reid, Security Management Leader

We live in a world that is bubbling with turmoil. Whether it is the effect of the global pandemic, political instability, extreme weather events or evolving cyber threats. Hence the successful security professional must be forward thinking in their approach to the protection of assets. As we close in on the dawn of 2022, certain trends continue to persist and new ones emerge.

One of these persistent threats is the never-ending pandemic and the plethora of mutations that emanate within different geographic regions. With a highly interconnected society, no country is immune from these viral mutations that can easily jump borders. From the data that I have seen so far it seems like 2022 will begin with an increase in infections, hospitalisations and mortality rates even among the vaccinated. This will of course throw countries back into a restrictive mode when we should ideally be moving forward.

However, the general reluctance to get vaccinated among many members of the public in densely populated areas exacerbates this uncertainty further. Superimpose this on a distributed workforce that will not return to ‘the way things were’. This new landscape presents the perfect environment for fraudsters and organised crime syndicates to infiltrate networks through what is now the ‘weakest link’.

In 2022, therefore, I think that we will continue to see a propagation of supply chain attacks that will affect many businesses within corporate ecosystems. The impacts of these cyber-attacks would cause disruption, loss of revenue and ultimately loss of confidence in providers. While on the topic of supply chains, it would be foolhardy not to embrace the fact that global supply chains will continue to be severely hampered in 2022 due to delays and disruptions. The effect will be global and not just impacting the time to deliver products but also the supply and demand dynamic would affect prices as well.

The world’s largest economy has been plagued with inflation for the last few months and with the erosion of spending power in a society where many live month to month, this could lead to an increase in crime across many major metropolitan areas. The shockwave could also affect many global locations far removed from the epicentre of this economic downturn.

Finally, in 2022, we will continue to see social justice initiatives being front and centre and this causes much division over methods and results. This movement is a global one where the physical and the cyber world intersects, expect to see new emerging threats on the horizon. There is a saying that providence favours the prepared and this is my personal maxim as we enter into 2022.

Bio

Malcolm Brian Reid, CPP, FBCI, CFE is a globally recognised security risk and continuity expert. He has been on the IFSEC most Influential in security multiple times and the winner of many related accolades in the industry. An engineering graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with multiple masters degrees, Malcolm also holds the industry’s most respected certifications and continues to serve as a member of the Global Board of Directors of ASIS International.

For more information, visit: www.brisonltd.com

This article was originally published in the December 2021 edition of International Security Journal. Pick up your FREE digital edition here