’What businesses need is timely, verifiable and actionable intelligence, which they can then use to make decisions,’ says regional security director

Firms have been warned that they need to better manage the information and intelligence they receive amid a heightened risk around disinformation.

false information, fake not fact

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Speaking as delegates gathered in Manchester for the Airmic annual conference, regional security director at International SOS James Woods said information was becoming a more valuable property as geopolitical threats create challenges for companies and their security.

He explained that while the world was “not more dangerous”, firms “know a lot more about the dangers that exist”.

However, he warned that firms ”do face more risk around the information that we have and receive”.

“It might be misinformation or disinformation,” he said.

“We have seen it in the conflict in Ukraine and during the pandemic we saw misinformation around issues such as vaccine efficacy and the roots of the pandemic as it continued.”

For example, there was a spike in damage claims during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 5G masts being burnt down due to a conspiracy theory that they were linked to the spread of the virus.

The government has confirmed there was no evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus.

“We have a 24/7 news media cycle, and we have a 24/7 social media cycle,” Woods said.

“What businesses need is timely, verifiable and actionable intelligence, which they can then use to make decisions.”

Lessons

However, Woods said the challenge for businesses was not just externally.

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He explained that the c-suite was becoming more involved in the crisis management process and that companies “have to think about how and what they communicate with staff across all areas of their operations”.

And he felt that firms needed to ensure they did not forget the lessons learned from the pandemic as new risks emerged.

“You need to ensure you keep the muscle memory,” Woods explained.

“What did we do right, what could we have done better and what do we need to change.

“You may have asked yourself that post the pandemic, but you need to ensure that you keep that muscle memory and the systems in place for the next event.

“You cannot simply shift focus to the immediate risk and lose the lessons of the past.”

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