Climate change conference launches as cyclone hits South Pacific
In a harsh display of irony the South Pacific island of Vanuatu has declared a state of emergency after being hit by the devastating force of Cyclone Pam; while its President is unable to get back to the island from Japan where he is attending the UN’s international disaster risk reduction conference. This latest tragic reminder of nature’s unpredictable might, which has claimed multiple lives, has been blamed firmly on climate change by Vanuatu president Baldwin Lonsdale who says that cyclones in March have always been rare but have happened for the last three years. The country’s minister for climate change and natural disasters James Bule shares the president’s fears: “There has certainly been a change in weather patterns in recent years. At the moment in Vanuatu it is unusually hot and humid for this time of the year. We are also seeing the effects of rising sea levels in the form of coastal erosion.”
IT professionals feel the pressure from cyber risk
IT professionals are feeling under increasing pressure from the threat of cyber attacks according to a new study. The research by Trustwave includes feedback from more than 1000 professionals from the US, Canada and UK and found that 54 per cent felt more pressure to secure their organizations in 2014 with 57 per cent expecting more pressure this year. The pressure was felt more at larger companies (64 per cent) than SMB’s (48 per cent). Among the biggest issues discovered were; being pressured to unveil IT projects that were not security ready (77 per cent); emerging risks such as cloud technologies and employees’ own devices; insufficient manpower in cybersecurity teams. The report also shows that business owners and executives are adding pressure on IT teams to boost cybersecurity (61 per cent, up from 50 per cent last year) and that the biggest concern of the IT pros is reputational damage as the result of data breach (84 per cent said that was their top concern.)
Read the full report.
Managing the risk from currency exchange
Many businesses operate globally and the internet has increased the potential for more to benefit from international trade but with economic volatility there are risks from currency exchange rates. While a strong US dollar for example is good for importers and businesses that spend heavily on overseas travel it has a negative effect for exporters and those providing services globally. How to set prices for overseas clients needs careful consideration; pricing in US dollars could mean that the business becomes less competitive than local competitors however pricing in local currency may wipe out profits, especially when exchange fees are factored in. Clever accounting practices may be able to mitigate some of the risk but there is certainly much to be considered when trading globally.
