September 2020 SM Online
SECURITY AWARENESS
Approximately 40 percent of global consumers said they were seriously concerned about scams or data breaches while working remotely, according to the 2020 Unisys Security Index.
CONVERGENCE
Roughly 25 percent of organizations in certain parts of the world have converged their physical and cybersecurity teams, according to The State of Security Convergence in the United States, Europe, and India by the ASIS Foundation.
GENDER EQUALITY
Sexual harassment is a major obstacle to equal rights for women and men, according to 77 percent of U.S. adults surveyed by Pew Research Center.
ILLICIT DRUGS
The price of methamphetamine dropped to the lowest level in a decade in 2020 as the supply surged, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
OPIOID RISK
As of June, more than 30 U.S. states reported increases in opioid deaths in 2020. In response, the National Safety Council released revised recommendations and guidance around COVID-19 associated opioid risk in the workplace.
WOMEN AND COVID-19
Women do nearly three times as much unpaid childcare and domestic work as men, and the COVID-19 pandemic has widened that gap even further, restricting women’s ability to carry out paid work, according to United Nations analysis.
DRUG DIVERSION
Of healthcare organizations that use drug diversion awareness programs, 85 percent collect employee tips on suspicious activities, according to Porter Research.
MILITARY RETENTION
From 2004 to 2018, women were 28 percent more likely than men to leave U.S. military service, according to a comprehensive study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
FEMALE SERVICEMEMBERS
Root causes behind low female servicemember retention include poor leadership, a scarcity of female role models, and a perceived gender bias, a RAND Corporation report found.
CORPORATE TRUST
The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer found that less than half of the overall surveyed population trusted institutions to do what is right, and that most people said institutions only served the interests of the few—not everyone equally or fairly.
DISCRIMINATION
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination.
DISASTER RELIEF FRAUD
The United States joined a lawsuit against AECOM, alleging false claims in connection with hurricane disaster relief.
PROTESTS
Philippine protesters rally over controversial anti-terror bill.
BANKING
Lebanon lawmakers adopted a law that allows anti-corruption investigators to access state officials and legislators’ bank records.
CORONAVIRUS
New quarantine rules for everyone arriving in the United Kingdom include a 14-day self-isolation period.
BLACKLIST
China’s securities regulator blacklisted six executives for their involvement in a $4.2 billion accounting scandal at Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co.
FRAUD
A former DEA spokesman pleaded guilty to pretending to be a CIA officer to bilk companies, generating $4.4 million in fraudulent gains.
DISCRIMINATION
The Union Pacific Railroad Company agreed to pay a $260,000 settlement to end a disability discrimination lawsuit.
ESPIONAGE
Henry Kyle Frese, a former counter-terrorism analyst for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency was given a 30-month prison sentence for repeatedly leaking classified information to two journalists.
MURDER
Steven Carillo was charged with murder and attempted murder for a drive-by shooting that killed a Federal Protective Service Officer and injured another security officer.
RETALIATION
Brookdale Senior Living Communities agreed to an $80,000 settlement and other relief for firing an African American caregiver who complained about other employees’ using racially charged language.
DISCRIMINATION
Albertsons paid a $210,000 settlement over a class national origin discrimination lawsuit, alleging a store manager harassed Hispanic employees for speaking Spanish.
POLICE
Democrats release legislation that aims at overhauling policing.
CORRUPTION
Under a new Malaysian law, ommercial organizations also become liable if their employees or associates are involved in corrupt actions.
MASS PROTESTS
Security leaders need to understand the factors behind mass protests to accurately predict them and mitigate their effects. Dig deeper into the findings of this month's Security Management cover story in the reports below.
- CSIS March report
- Maplecroft Political Risk Outlook for 2020
- S. Named a High Risk Country due to growing civil unrest
- Mass demonstrations in Paris
- Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
- Impact of unfounded conspiracy theories
- Protest sparked by metro fares in Chile
- The Trade Guys podcast
- Minneapolis protests have global impacts
- Protest tactics; protest groups share
- Catalonian separatism
- Catalonians changed their peaceful tactics
- French protests
- Anti-China protests
- Rubber bullet ban
- George Floyd protests
- Geopolitical Futures Forecast for 2020
- Coronavirus impacts on Bank of England
- CPI 2019 Global Highlights analysis