Globalization: Are You In or Are You Out?

The increasing proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the growing opportunity for real-time borderless exchange, cybersecurity is a complex transnational issue that requires global cooperation for ensuring a safe Internet. According to a 2016 Norton study, threats to cyberspace have increased dramatically in the past year afflicting 431 million adult victims globally – or 14 adults victims every second, one million cybercrime victims every day.

Cybercrime has now become a business which exceeds a trillion dollars a year in online fraud, identity theft, and lost intellectual property, affecting millions of people around the world, as well as countless businesses and the Governments of every nation.

To address the issues and challenges around cybersecurity and cybercrime, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a Special Event on “Cybersecurity and Development”, organized jointly by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in New York.

The plenary and panel discussion aimed to (1) build awareness at the international policy level by providing ECOSOC Members with a picture of the current situation and challenges concerning cybersecurity and its links to development; (2) identify a range of best practice policies and initiatives in place around the world to build a culture of cybersecurity; and (3) explore options for a global response to rising cybercrime.

 

source : www.un.org/en/development/desa/news

The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, warned that the Ethiopian government could set back years of economic development in the country if they continue to suppress civil liberties. Nearly 700 people were killed in protests in a seven month period and thousands more have been detained. There is little political and social freedom – political opposition is banned, media is censored, and civil society is suppressed. Hussein called for an “open democratic space” for the Ethiopian people in order for the country to succeed long-term.

Agnes Callamard, UN expert on extrajudicial killings, denounced the “war on drugs” approach backed by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Delegates at the UN General Assembly last year decried drug-related corruption and called for a multifaceted approach with an emphasis on health and justice in the campaign against drugs.

There have been 4,000 drug-related deaths since Duterte started cracking down on drug users nearly a year ago and rights groups claim that the police are responsible for a significant number of them. Despite denying any responsibility, Duterte has been publicly implicated by a police officer and hit man whose lawyer has called for Duterte to be tried in the International Criminal Court for mass murder.

One of the major points of contention is the single currency system within the EU. Le Pen wants to leave the Euro system but that seems more based on nationalism than economics. Macron says no, but that EU reform is required. Le Pen says “the euro is dead”, but doesn’t suggest leaving the single currency system right away. It seems to me more like something she wants to campaign on, but not something she actually wants to do because she knows it would be harmful.

Le Pen reminds me so much of Trump. She uses inflammatory rhetoric, claims she will keep the French people safe, projects her own idea of what French culture is and should be. Macron on the other hand doesn’t seem to be tone-deaf the way Clinton’s campaign was. He recognizes the real struggles and desires of Le Pen’s supporters when it comes to trade, and he strongly advocates reform (and blames Germany for lack of said reform). From The Guardian:

“The dysfunctioning of the euro is of good use to Germany, I have to say,” said Macron, adding that a lack of trust between France and Germany was blocking major reforms that would increase solidarity among the 19 members of the eurozone.

“The euro is a weak Deutsche Mark,” said Macron. “The status quo is synonymous, in 10 years’ time, with the dismantling of the euro.”

Ironically, electing Macron could increase the value of the euro, as its value jumped last night.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/world/australia/china-students-daigou.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Faustralia

Chinese students in Australia are purchasing Australian products and selling them back to people in China, by either selling them directly to customers in China or shipping them to Hong Kong, where traders carry them across the border, avoiding mainland tariffs. These students call themselves daigou (purchasing agents – I’m not sure if this is a direct translation or industry specific term).

This industry has grown to a point where Australian businesses meet with these sellers directly to share new products. It appears these individuals are successful because they are quick to spot new trends, and customers trust them. They sell directly to friends and family.

I think this has implications for trade worldwide. How much could individuals like these profit from circumventing official trade routes? Could the future of global trade rely on individual trendsetters more the multinational corporations? This article caught my eye because a Baruch alum named Marlon Willie -he was speaking at a panel the other day – has a sort of similar business called MangoErrands. It helps Jamaicans overseas run errands in Jamaica and purchase products they can’t find outside of the country. (His business of course is official and not evading taxes, like some of the daigou business are 🙂 )

I feel that Trump doesn’t have a clear strategy to deal with Korea peninsula nuclear crisis. On the one hand, he said he would seek to make Seoul pay for the controversial defense outfit, causing both confusion and anger among allies in the South. On the other hand, he is breaking the US government tradition that no direct dialogue with the North Korea. He said he is willing to have a direct talk with the North Korea. The consequence of such a chaos may be beneficial to Kim Jong Un — when he bargains with big powers, he may raise more excessive “requirements”.

http://time.com/4762751/thaad-south-korea-north-korea-missile/

It sounds like a “posture” for campaign to attract voters who still refuse to accept the truth about Brexit. Although Liberal Democrats Party is the third largest party in the UK, it’s still impossible for them to get parliamentary majority.

http://time.com/4763031/lib-dem-second-referendum/

 

Four foreign International Medical Corps (IMC) employees were detained and deported by the Turkish government last week. The IMC is a U.S.-based aid organization which works with Syrian refugees, including millions in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. The actions that President Erdogan and the Turkish government have taken since his referendum victory are especially alarming and reveal their efforts to combat their enemies both home and abroad. The Turkish government began cracking down on NGOs and other humanitarian aid organizations late last year amidst pro-government media making serious allegations against them. As more agencies are shut down in the country, thousands of Syrian refugees will be left without the aid and support that they desperately need which will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

 

Asian hackers are using Trojans to gather information from workers in the UK Government and the national infrastructure. The Trojans come as attachments or through links to specially crafted websites and use social engineering tactics that come from spoofed senders. Around 300 UK Government departments and critical infrastructure businesses have been attacked warns the UK National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre (NISCC). The Security centre said that the attackers are gathering commercial or economically valuable information. The agency also warned that anti-virus software and firewalls do not give complete protection. It has released detection and protection advice against the Trojans. We have heard the term cyber terrorism used since the mid 1990s, when the concept of using computers and other types of high technology as weapons was first openly discussed in the form of Information Warfare.

Since then we have seen the development of information warfare capability in at least two countries (the USA, China), but the events in the USA of 9/11/2001 and the subsequent response have elevated the fear of terrorism and, as a result, cyber terrorism to a new plane. There has been a strong and understandable reaction to the new terrorist threat and the concept of high tech attacks that they might launch seems to have become wrapped up in the whole atmosphere of fear.

 

Source : www.sciencedirect.com