4 risk responses to ongoing conflict in the Middle East

As a risk network, we are acutely aware of the situation in the Middle East and the pressure that it is having on companies and specifically risk teams.

At Risk Leadership Network we're able to respond quickly to unexpected developments, and arm our members with insights from relevant peers in a matter of days.

Our members wanted to know how their peers are approaching the situation in the Middle East, whether they're standing up crisis teams or not, and which risks they're focusing on. We facilitated a virtual meeting so they could share approaches. Here are four responses shared:

1. Creating a crisis management office (CMO)

A member based in the Middle East explained how aerial attacks (and their general proximity to the war) have placed them in a crisis situation. In response they have established a crisis management office (CMO) to hold daily meetings on the latest developments. Their primary operational focus is business continuity and keeping fundamental activities live.

A key challenge they're facing, on top of safety issues to personnel, such as harm from falling debris, is employees' embassies advising them to return to their home country. This may cause people-related disruption if exits happen at scale.

Request to participate in upcoming collaborations on the Middle East

We're facilitating a number of peer collaborations to support our members in responding to the situation in the Middle East. From working with crisis management and BC to preparing for high-impact, low-likelihood risks, we're organising collaborations in response to the specific requests of each member.

Request to participate

 2. Identifying specific threats

Using dashboards to report geopolitical and country-level risks

Download this template, shared by a risk leader at a global organisation.

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3. Raising the level of awareness for cyber risks

Cyber risk leaders in our network say it is important to raise the level of awareness and alertness in the business in response to the situation.

One of the biggest cyber threats is any collateral damage as a result of the crisis, members say. This could include the destruction of data centres (targeted or otherwise), as well as intentional severing of undersea cables.

These risks are of course greater for global businesses with supply chains and vendors in the affected regions.

Companies often rely on IT vendors for both equipment and SAAS solutions. If specific types of equipment or solutions are used widely by the business, attacks on vendors could have a major impact.

“There's an increased risk of phishing campaigns to collect employee credentials and financial information as a result of the conflict. Similar crises have seen a surge in this activity. Take additional caution and remind the business about what to look out for.”

CRO

Risk Leadership Network member

CRO

4. Staying on top of intelligence

Members have also been discussing the information sources they're using to keep up to date on the latest developments in the conflict, including:

Members noted that external reporting, particularly in fast-changing situations like the current conflict in the Middle East, will often lag behind the pace of events. With this in mind, it's important to use external reports, and any output from AI agents (e.g. Co-pilot), to fill gaps in the organisation's knowledge, rather than depending on them for intelligence. 

What's next?

Whilst most companies in our network consider themselves to be in a stable situation at the moment (i.e. they have adequate stockpiles, supply chains remain unaffected), they share a key uncertainty: how long the conflict will go on for. A prolonged conflict, as some have predicted, could change the equation.

What is clear is that geopolitical risk is no longer a bolt-on to regular risk management, but a core component of any multinational business' strategic development. Instability would appear the new normal.

At Risk Leadership Network, we're keeping close to our members at this unstable time, and arranging tailored collaboration and peer knowledge sharing in response to their needs. Request to participate in our upcoming collaborations on the Middle East, and share approaches and lessons learned with practising senior risk leaders.

Meanwhile, here are a few relevant resources for non-members:

• Using dashboards to report geopolitical and country-level risks
• Managing political uncertainty in the pharma sector
• 7 approaches to setting risk appetite for cyber security