Cyber Attacks, Natural Disasters and Supply Chain Failures Among Top Vulnerabilities for Businesses

In its annual Global Resilience Index, insurer FM Global revealed that cyber attacks, natural hazards and supply chain failure are among the top risks that businesses face around the world. The annual index, which is online and available for free, ranks 130 countries and territories by their enterprise resilience to disruptive events. It provides a unique resource to help business executives investigate 12 quantified resilience drivers related to each country’s economic strength, risk quality and supply chain condition.

Cyber, natural hazards and supply chain failure were added this year as new measurements in the index to reflect escalating threats that can make a lasting impact on business performance, according to FM Global. The cyber measurement reflects a country’s vulnerability to a cyber attack and its ability to recover; the natural hazard measurement looks at the stress a natural disaster, such windstorms, flooding and earthquakes, would have on a country’s water supplies, power grids and other infrastructure; and supply chain visibility reflects the ability to track and trace consignments across a country’s supply chain.

The online index found that Saudi Arabia has an above-average cyber risk due to its high Internet penetration coupled with a limited cyber-security industry, which makes it a more vulnerable target. India, on the other hand, emerged as country with a below-average inherent cyber risk.

When it came to natural disasters, Sweden tops the list with above-average resilience due in part to its lower-than-average exposure to hazards such as windstorms, flood and earthquakes. Bangladash, which is prone to flooding and is a major manufacturing hub for apparel and textiles, ranks toward the bottom of the index.

Companies with global supply chains in Germany, which is a major exporter and importer, ranks near the top in in terms of resilience, in part due to the country’s strong ability to demonstrate where parts, components or products are in transit. Russia ranks at the bottom.

In addition, in terms of overall enterprise resilience, Switzerland took the top spot this year, reflecting the country’s combination of infrastructure, local supplier quality, political stability, control of corruption and economic productivity. Hurricane-ravaged Haiti ranks at the bottom due in part to its high natural hazard exposure and poor economic conditions. The United States ranked ninth in overall resilience among the 130 countries and territories.

Other drivers of resilience that form the index include: productivity, political risk, oil intensity, exposure to natural hazard, natural hazard risk quality, fire risk quality, control of corruption, quality of infrastructure and quality of local suppliers.

Roanoke Trade is a leading provider of insurance solutions in the global supply chain industry, providing a broad spectrum of products to address the exposures of transportation and logistics providers. Our knowledge and experience is unparalleled in the industry, having served this niche client base since 1935. For information about our insurance products and services, please contact one of our Roanoke Trade professionals at 1-800-ROANOKE (800-762-6653).