Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Monday, 27 September 2021. You can receive this daily briefing by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
- Huawei CFO makes a deal
- Cyber actors next target; air freight
- Costco warns of supply shortages
- Pelosi braces for spending votes
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
HUAWEI: Last week, Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou entered a deferred prosecution agreement for misleading global financial institutions. Specific charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and wire fraud. The CFO allegedly lied to U.S. banks about controlling Iranian cellular networks, selling embargoed technology equipment to Iran, and using UK-based staffing organizations to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Justice Department dropped its extradition request from Canada, meaning the embattled CFO will likely return to China. (AC: Chinese tech firm Huawei was once a global leader in 5G development, but is now reportedly struggling to survive, according to its CEO, due to U.S.-led pressure against the company. The Department of Justice dropped charges against Meng in a bid to win back two Canadian citizens who were detained for spying against China mere days after Meng was arrested. The move by the Department of Justice to drop charges in order to win the return of two Canadian citizens from Chinese detention makes this nothing more than a prisoner exchange. – M.S.)
CYBER ATTACK: French logistics company CMA CGM suffered a data breach last week, losing more than half a million customers’ sensitive information. Industry analysts note a 530% increase in cyber attacks on logistics companies in 2020, with 2021 showing a similar trend. Hackers and ransomware groups are believed to be shifting focus to air freight carriers, but industry reporting requirements are inconsistent. Amar More, director at Kale Logistics Solutions, said, “[A] shipment can often involve data or intellectual property transfer between up to 10 separate parties across the globe, hence there is enough motivation for hackers to look at cargo data as well.” (AC: The risk of logistics shutdowns globally due to cyber exploitation remains a threat that could compound downstream logistics problems. – D.M.)
COSTCO: Over the weekend, retail giant Costco warned customers about the potential for shortages due to increased buying and persistent supply chain disruptions. Conditions led some stores to bring back purchasing limits for toilet paper and some household cleaning goods. (AC: As we continue to warn, another round of panic buying could lead to severe shortages of goods. We’ve seen reports of grocers increasing their purchase orders since earlier this year, but logistical hurdles could affect availability, regardless of the volume of products being produced. Another major concern for the next 12 months is cascading failures due to parts availability. We’ve seen numerous reports of extended backlogs for replacement parts that are critical for refrigeration and trucking, which could lead to catastrophic failure in the supply chain. – M.S.)
INFRASTRUCTURE: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set the vote for a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill to take place on Thursday. House plans for this week also include negotiations on the Build Back Better Act, which includes the Child Tax Credit, paid child care, paid family and medical leave, and more. It’s being described as a progressive plan that will be “transformative for women in the workforce and for addressing the climate crisis,” according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). (AC: The deal stipulates $550 billion in federal investments for America’s infrastructure over the next five years and will add $256 billion to our national debt over the next ten years. -T.W.)
HAZARDS WARNING
HURRICANE SEASON: The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Sam, located several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Currently, it is not projected to impact the continental United States. The remaining systems moving off the African coast are expected to consolidate in the next 72-96 hours.
In today’s Early Warning, Dustin covers Chinese spies selling submarine secrets. Upgrade your Situational Awareness to Early Warning here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe