As agreements and alliances are endangered on the international stage, the global community could be heading for the biggest shift since the Cold War – with ‘normalisation’ replaced by a far more suspicious and defensive state of affairs. Donald Trump’s week got worse last week when President Rouhani of Iran announced that he is willing […]
With new US sanctions against Iran evidencing a harder line by the Trump administration, and Rouhani threatening to withdraw from the JCPOA deal in response, Iran is once again in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Iran, as with Russia, can sometimes make interested parties fall foul of the “sanctions trap”. Essentially, to examine
Sanctions never tell the full story Read More »
To paraphrase TV comic John Oliver, the world has really come to something when a short madman with bad hair and daddy issues is threatening nuclear doom, and you still don’t know whether it’s Donald Trump or Kim Jong-Un that we are talking about. For forty years the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction kept the
How do you solve a problem like Korea? Read More »
As we slide into August it is worth considering the current ‘lay of the land’ with regards to cyber-security and assessing what we might see in the second half of 2017. The year so far has been dominated by the twin ransomware hits of WannaCry and NotPetya, but these are far from the only emerging
On Trend: The Shape Of Cyber-Security in 2017 Read More »
Last week saw the startling admission that the South Korean spy agency deliberately manipulated the 2012 presidential election, in order to ensure victory for conservative Park Geun-hye. But in a world where misinformation and campaigns of deception are commonplace, should we really be surprised? So keen was the National Intelligence Service to ensure that ‘their’
Not The Nine-O-Clock News (Or Any Other News For That Matter) Read More »
It is often said that Belarus is Europe’s last dictatorship, Now, Hungary may be about to become the EU’s first. Viktor Orban was notable from the start. One of many free-thinkers in the Hungary of the 1980s, he founded his own political party, Fidesz, in 1988, on a basis of ‘liberalism and radicalism’, which saw
A Demagogue In Democratic Clothing: Hungary Like The Wolf? Read More »
It has been well reported that the human factor is often the weakest link in cyber security. Even the most advanced systems are susceptible to human error. According to Kaspersky, which utilised the B2B international market research company to scrutinise 5,000 companies across the globe, the results stated that “Fifty-two percent of businesses admit that
There is a saying in China: Shan gao, huangdi yuan. The mountains are high, and the emperor far away. A modern translation would allude that central power often goes ignored, and that people should choose their own paths. However, in recent years it has also come to refer to the corruption that continues to plague
Tigers & Flies: A Zoology of Chinese Business Read More »
US Business and the Gulf’s Shunning of Qatar Despite facing sanctions from several of its neighbors, Qatar is continuing business as usual, with only minor disruptions. The situation has heightened geopolitical tensions in an already anxious region, but has not significantly impacted businesses in either Qatar or the region. The tiny and extremely wealthy country has
Recent news from our US partner CTC International Read More »
It was supposed to be yet another sign of China’s new industrialised dawn, but has ended in acrimony and embarrassment for all concerned. The Beijing Transit Elevated Bus (TEB), or ‘straddling bus’, a bold plan to allow public transport to run over cars, thus reducing travel time and congestion, has this week been revealed as
China: Mutiny On The Buses Read More »