National Security Threats to Supply Chain

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National Security Threats to Supply Chain

There are many different types of security threats in the supply of different kinds of goods. When the goods being transported through a particular chain of supply are of exceptionally high cost, or they are valuable, security in most times is a considerable concern. This is because there are always individuals and even groups who always want to make the chain unstable, and therefore the goods cannot arrive at their destination. Apart from this, however, national security threats generally affect any supply chain, most of which are connected over an extended geographical area or from other countries. This is a big concern for everyone, and many efforts are in place to make sure that national security threats do not affect the supply chain of different goods. This paper focuses on national security threats and how they affect different types of supply chains.

Transnational crime is one of the national security threats to the supply chain. The FBI has a section dealing with these types of crimes. However, the fact that they are transnational still impacts the American people since some of the goods imported may be subject to these criminal groups (Basu, 2013). Therefore this is a big issue since these groups may even divert goods purchased and use them or re-sell them to other people.

Cyber terrorism is another type of national security threat which can affect almost everyone. With the growth of the internet of things, hacking groups and other individuals who want to maliciously steal or destroy other people’s property or information (Urciuoli et al., 2013). This affects the supply chain because a person wants to buy something, and they have to place an order online for that specific item. Sometimes cyber terrorists create a fake website, and a person ends up paying their money to the wrong address, and their money is never refunded, neither is the item they were trying to buy. This poses a significant problem because it disrupts the chain supply even before it begins. Instead, due to these issues, products delay as the company focuses on addressing cyber terrorism.

Pandemic threats and occurrences are also a threat to national security. From the view of pandemics being artificial, for example, in biological warfare, these become a significant threat to national security and supply chain. An example is coronavirus disease; even though it is not yet proven whether it is artificial, there is still a massive supply chain disruption due to its presence. Therefore, it is a security threat since the immunity and protection within the united states is surpassed by this disease, and those responsible have to find reasonable ways to explain the issue (Ivanov, & Das, 2020). People get sick, and in fear of getting the disease, some resign while others are sacked to reduce the costs of running different companies and organizations. All these disrupt the supply chain in that it becomes prolonged. For example, clothes or other products may stay up to 14 days before being picked to ensure that the owner who is to choose is not at the risk of being infected with the coronavirus.

References

Basu, G. (2013). The role of transnational smuggling operations in illicit supply chains. Journal of Transportation Security, 6(4), 315-328.

Ivanov, D., & Das, A. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) and supply chain resilience: A research note. International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, 13(1), 90-102.

Urciuoli, L., Männistö, T., Hintsa, J., & Khan, T. (2013). Supply chain cybersecurity–potential threats. Information & Security: An International Journal, 29(1).