The intersection of technology and geopolitics is reshaping global stability, with critical infrastructure like submarine cables, chip supply chains and AI platforms emerging as focal points of disruption and power.
In this Commercial Disco podcast hosted by InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod, Verizon’s vice president for Asia Pacific Rob Le Busque and ABC’s Hamish McDonald unpack the escalating risks tied to these technological pillars, their vulnerabilities and the urgent need for resilience in an era of relentless change.
Mr le Busque highlighted the fragility of global digital infrastructure, particularly submarine cable networks, which carry 98 per cent of international internet traffic.
“The shorthand is there’s three pinch points or choke points in that network,” he said, pointing to the Red Sea, the Malacca Straits, and the waters around Taiwan, where 15 of 18 major fiber optic cables connecting North Asia to the US West Coast transit or terminate.
These choke points, built decades ago when geopolitical tensions were less pronounced, now represent significant vulnerabilities. Taiwan, in particular, stands as a flashpoint where technology and geopolitics collide, with Mr le Busque noting that a large-scale cable disruption wouldn’t halt the global internet but could cause “significant degradation” to the US$10 trillion in daily transactions that rely on the global IP backbone.
The broader implications of this convergence was clear, with Mr McDonald probing whether geopolitics drives technological risks or vice versa. He hypothesised, “If you take Taiwan as the example, can you extricate those two?”
Mr le Busque’s response underscores their inseparability, noting that while redundancy in global networks offers some protection, the physical concentration of infrastructure in geopolitically sensitive areas creates real risks.
“30 years ago, economic efficiency drove the decision to cluster cable landing stations, a choice that now exposes critical weaknesses in the digital economy,” he said.
Cybersecurity emerged as another critical concern, with Mr le Busque pointing to the growing sophistication of threats targeting both governments and enterprises, with distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks increasingly being used to embarrass governments during high-stakes moments like elections or budget announcements.
On the enterprise side, the evolution of ransomware into broader extortion schemes — where data is not only locked but stolen — has amplified the stakes. Mr le Busque shared a stark example: a global CIO who, during a ransomware attack, admitted, “I didn’t even realise we had operations in Brazil”, revealing a critical lack of preparedness in some organisations.
Australia’s cybersecurity posture came under scrutiny, with Mr le Busque arguing that the nation’s geographic isolation fosters a false sense of digital security.
“We’ve got to get over this mindset that because we’re geographically isolated, we’re also digitally a long way from threats,” he said. “They’re not even on our doorstep. They’re here already.”
Mr le Busque also criticised the “she’ll be right” attitude and stressed the need for proactive conversations about attack scenarios and recovery strategies, particularly as incidents like recent super fund breaches highlight ongoing vulnerabilities.
Despite the risks, Le Busque said that innovative solutions, such as Verizon’s work with a shipping company to secure autonomous vessels, aim for a 2050 carbon-neutral goal. This project, which includes the world’s first “marine SOC” (Security Operations Centre), underscores the potential for technology to mitigate risks when paired with robust security measures.
The discussion, co-hosted by Verizon, which monitors 61 billion attacks annually through its global SOCs, demonstrates the urgent need for resilience in the face of intertwined technological and geopolitical challenges.
As Mr McDonald aptly summarised, “We probably all have a sense of that exponential growth trajectory for global instability now,” a sentiment that underscores the stakes for nations and enterprises alike in navigating this volatile landscape.
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