Interos

Protecting Your Supply Chain from Extreme Weather: Steps to Minimize Risk

Posted on May 29, 2025May 29, 2025 by interos.ai

Extreme weather events, whether wildfires, hurricanes, floods, or heatwaves, can wreak havoc on supply chains, causing delays, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting critical logistics. As climate-related risks become more frequent and severe, businesses must take proactive steps to safeguard their operations.

Extreme Weather Events Put 94.5 Million Businesses at Risk

interos.ai data shows that last year, 30.8 million more businesses were at risk of extreme weather than 2024, an increase of 48% year over year despite slightly fewer catastrophic risk events. The financial impact was upwards of $182 billion.

In 2024, there were 27 confirmed climate disaster events each with losses exceeding $1 billion in the US. These include 17 severe storms, 5 hurricanes, two winter storms, one flood, one drought and one wildfire. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 568 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted.

Read more in our 2025 Supply Chain Predictions Report.

Based on interos.ai’s climate change intensification metric, many businesses and their suppliers stand to be in the path of intensifying catastrophic risk events in 2025.

NOAA has predicted a 60% chance of an “above-normal” Atlantic Hurricane season, with up to 19 Named Storms, 10 Hurricanes and 5 Major Hurricanes. Last year, hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton put 1.2 million and 2 million businesses at risk, respectively, according to interos.ai data. The economic toll of just one major storm? Hurricane Milton alone caused $50 billion in estimated damage.

Steps to Minimize Extreme Weather-Induced Supply Chain Risk:

1. Conduct a Risk Assessment

Start by identifying vulnerabilities in your supply chain. Map out your suppliers and assess their exposure to extreme weather risks.

interos.ai can help you map and monitor your supply chain beyond just your tier 1 suppliers.

Our catastrophic risk model visualizes your sub-tier suppliers impacted by a range of hazards, including weather patterns, climate, communication, infrastructure, and healthcare capacity.

2. Diversify Your Suppliers and Logistics Partners

Relying on a single supplier or transport route can be risky. Build resilience by diversifying and exploring alternative suppliers in different geographic regions to reduce reliance on a single location or region prone to climate disasters.

With interos.ai, you can find out if “a potential new supplier in a high-risk climate change area” or “which current suppliers are in high flood or earthquake areas” and use this intelligence to diversify your supply chain.

3. Real Time Risk Monitoring

Develop and regularly update comprehensive business continuity plans that outline strategies for maintaining operations during and after hurricanes, floods, wildfires, or other natural disasters.

interos.ai provides continuous monitoring alerts to real-time events as they impact supply chains.

4. Be Proactive and Leverage Risk Technology

Supply Chain Risk Intelligence can help businesses navigate extreme weather. interos.ai’s groundbreaking Catastrophic Risk Model provides organizations with a comprehensive and continuous view of their extended supply chain, enabling procurement and risk leaders to proactively identify and mitigate risks from hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other catastrophes.

As an example, New Jersey-based Cooper University Health Care leveraged interos.ai’s Catastrophic risk intelligence to get ahead of Hurricane Idalia in 2023 as it barrelled toward an area in Florida where several of the company’s suppliers are based.

“Interos gave us the ability to track potential impacts before the storm hit,” says Thomas Runkle, VP, Supply Chain. “We identified three suppliers in the path, two of which provide products to our system. We discovered one placed a cutoff on orders with no notice. Having acted on the new risk map data, we reached out in time to get several days of orders placed before they were stopped due to the hurricane.”

By leveraging advanced supply chain risk intelligence and machine learning, interos.ai’s technology can identify sub-tier suppliers in the path of destruction.

This proactive approach empowers businesses to pre-plan months in advance and take necessary steps to minimize disruptions.

Building a Weather Resilient Future

Extreme weather is unpredictable, but supply chain disruptions don’t have to be inevitable.

By investing in risk assessments, supplier diversification, and supply chain risk technology, businesses can build resilient supply chains that withstand climate challenges. As weather events continue to evolve, continuous monitoring and adaptation will be key to long-term success.

By taking proactive measures and leveraging advanced lifecycle risk intelligence, organizations can better navigate the challenges posed by extreme weather events and ensure the continuity of their operations, while mitigating the staggering economic toll of supply chain disruptions.

Take control of supply chain disruptions before they escalate.

Speak to an Expert Today

Ghosts in the Energy Supply Chain

Posted on May 21, 2025May 21, 2025 by Lexi Sydow

Authors: Dr. Andrea Little-Limbago, SVP, Applied AI and Mackenzie Clark, Lead Computational Social Scientist

The 90-day tariff détente between the US and China is not the only macro-trend upending global supply chains recently. US officials claim communication equipment and cellular radios not listed in product documentation were found within batteries and solar equipment.

These inserted components can pose a security risk to critical infrastructure, potentially leading to power blackouts, destabilization, or other damage to the energy infrastructure.

The revelation of technology supply chain tampering in Chinese-made devices is the latest indication of the growing risk of technology supply chain manipulation. As Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted, “The scientific and technological revolution and the great power game are intertwined.”

With hyperspecialized and complex technology supply chains at the center of both the global economy and great power geopolitical competition, this is the latest indication that trusted supply chain networks are more critical than ever before.

Shifting Norms around Supply Chain Security

In 2018, Bloomberg reported evidence of Chinese tampering of servers that enabled access to data on computer networks. US-based Supermicro was the focus of the investigation, with potential manipulation of their products via supply chain infiltration. The devices were manufactured in Guangzhou, China, where the tampered hardware was found. In sum, approximately 30 US companies were potentially compromised, including major tech giants. No US company nor the government has corroborated this account, but Bloomberg has since produced numerous reports and remains steadfast in their authenticity.

Regardless of whether this ‘Spy-Chip Gate’ occurred or not, it is indicative of the growing risk of technology supply chain manipulation through one of the many insertion points along the supply chain.

A new era in these risks emerged last fall with the pager attacks targeting Hezbollah. Explosives planted in pagers and walkie talkies killed dozens and injured thousands, representing an inflection point in lethality and shifting norms around supply chain security.

While the front companies and tampering were not new, the extensive lethality and complexity of the operation was. As noted cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier wrote, these attacks have changed the world forever. Supply chain resilience and trusted networks are crucial, especially in technology supply chains that are targeted for geopolitical objectives.

Emerging Technology Infiltration & Propagation Effects

Section 154 of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibits Department of Defense acquisition from specific Chinese battery manufacturing companies by 2027. These companies are front and center of this recent claim reported by Reuters. As interos.ai analysis highlights, these companies extend deep within utilities, automotive, and electronics industries.

The companies referenced in the Reuters report align with those companies restricted under Section 154, and include:  

Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Ltd. 
BYD Company, Ltd. 
Envision Energy, Ltd. 
EVE Energy Company, Limited 
Gotion High Tech Company, Limited 
Hithium Energy Storage Technology Company, Limited

These six companies alone directly supply almost 1000 companies, over half of which are in the United States, followed by India, Mexico, Germany, and China. These direct customers include companies concentrated in the following five industries:  

Vehicle Manufacturing
Electronic Component Manufacturing
Computers and Computer Peripherals Manufacturing and Sales
Automotive Dealers
Utilities

Among these companies include major manufacturers and distributors of vehicles electronics, most of which have been observed as customers of at least one of the Section 154 suppliers at least once since the beginning of 2024 in interos.ai data.  

When expanding this analysis out to Tier 3, the impact of the restricted Section 154 companies becomes much more far-reaching.

interos.ai Identifies Over 47 Million Buyer-Supplier Relationships as Vulnerabilities in Extended Supply Chain

Across three tiers of supplier relationships, interos.ai data identified over 47 million supplier relationships with almost 3.2 million unique customers that could be exposed to the products supplied by these high-risk Chinese suppliers. 

Again, these customers are primarily concentrated in the United States, but companies across the globe are also at risk of exposure:  

United States (35% of Tier 1-Tier 3 customers) 
United Kingdom (7%) 
India (6%) 
France (4%) 
China (3%)

These Tier 1-Tier 3 customers include companies concentrated in a variety of industries: 

Consumer Goods
Business Management and Legal Services
Software and IT Services
Architectural, Engineering, and Design Services
Building and Civil Engineering Construction

Trusted Networks and Minimizing Supply Chain Risk

As noted, these companies are already on NDAA Section 154 due to the security risk within such significant emerging technology produced in China. While this Section 154 targets companies partnering with the US government, as this latest incident highlights, all companies should heed these risks.

With geopolitical competition at the heart of the technological revolution, ‘know your supplier’ is more important than ever, but so too is knowing their extended supply chain.

From the software and hardware bill of materials to ongoing regulations and restrictions regarding risky technologies, there is both the regulatory and the security momentum pushing organizations toward trusted networks. From drones to 5G, strategic decoupling and derisking of technology supply chains has been ongoing for years. Solar inverters may have not been immune to this decoupling. In 2019, the US banned solar inverters from Huawei, while Europe recently explored a ban on Chinese inverters due to perceived security risks. Of course, with Chinese solar companies’ enormous grip on the market, decoupling is easier said than done.

Nevertheless, global technological bifurcation is already well underway; if anything, the insertion of rogue devices found in Chinese batteries and solar inverters will only accelerate it. As corporate and government technology stacks restructure to gain greater security, supply chain visibility and trusted networks must be front and center of these strategies.

interos.ai continues to track the growing list of restricted companies – ranging from emerging tech companies to those linked to unethical labor – and helps our customers quickly identify these risks in the extended supply chain.

As these emerging technologies continue to permeate all aspects of society, it does not come without risks. Given the scope of risks, they are simply too complex and unwieldy to manage alone. Trusted networks have always been an important part of supply chain security. In this new era, they are indispensable.

How secure is your supply chain?

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When Borders Collide: The India-Pakistan Conflict and Its Global Trade Fallout

Posted on May 16, 2025May 16, 2025 by interos.ai

The long-standing tension between India and Pakistan has taken a critical turn as military actions and retaliatory strikes escalate in the disputed region of Kashmir. This conflict has reached levels not seen between these two countries for decades.

In this analysis, we examine not only the volatile timeline of recent events but also deep dive into the economic stakes – how a breakdown in the current truce could disrupt trade in Kashmir, India, and Pakistan.

Escalating Military Tensions and a Fragile Truce

In early April, a deadly militant attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, claimed the lives of 26 Hindu tourists. The incident immediately set off alarms in an already tense region and led to a sharp escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. On May 3, Pakistan test-fired missiles, pausing direct trade between India and Pakistan in a climate of heightened alert.

Matters intensified when, on May 7, India launched missile strikes against targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, declaring that the strikes were aimed at “terrorist infrastructure.” The death toll rose rapidly with Pakistan reporting 31 fatalities as part of India’s retaliation. In these conditions, airspace closures and cross-border missile and drone deployments further underscored the narrow line between a controlled engagement and a full-blown conflict.

A cautious sense of relief emerged on May 10 when a truce was declared, brokered by the US Government and the Trump Administration, followed by the first night without any firing incidents on May 12.

However, the underlying tensions remain, and with every pause in violence comes a stark warning: if the fragile truce breaks, the economic and human consequences could be immense.

Kashmir: A Disputed Area Under Siege

Kashmir isn’t just a geopolitical flashpoint – it’s also a burgeoning economic hub with a rich artisan background. According to interos.ai, companies in Kashmir have been involved in over 71,227 shipments since January 1, 2024, with 3,786 companies from around the world purchasing goods from the region.

While companies across a wide footprint of industries stand to be impacted by this conflict, interos.ai data highlights that the industries most impacted by a disruption in exports from Kashmir encompass consumer goods and retail.

Industry Concentration of Companies (Global) Buying from Kashmir Companies:

Consumer Goods: 4.9% of the overall trade profile
Apparel Retailers: 4.1%
Supermarkets, Department Stores, and Other Retailers: 3.7%
Retail, NOS: 3.6%

Kashmir is famous for handicrafts such as Pashmina shawls and silk. It’s also the sole producer of saffron in the Indian subcontinent – a spice with a storied history and significant market demand.

The region’s exports are not merely numbers; they represent livelihoods, cultural heritage, and economic stability for an entire community. Disruption to these trade channels, especially in consumer goods and artisanal products, would have far-reaching consequences for both local economies and global supply chains, notably due to the knock-on disruptions to normal operations in India, one of the largest exporting economies in the world.

Country-Level Trade: India’s and Pakistan’s Global Exports

India’s Export Landscape

interos.ai’s knowledge graph contains data on over 5.5 million companies in India, which supply over 540,000 companies globally. Since 2024, these companies have accounted for over 37.6 million shipments.  

interos.ai data highlights the companies most impacted by a disruption in exports from India encompass a wide swath of industries including consumer goods, software, engineering, and manufacturing companies.

Industry Concentration of Companies (Global) Buying from Indian Companies:

Consumer Goods: 4.6%
Business Management and Legal Services: 4.4%
Software and IT Services: 3.9%
Architectural, Engineering, and Design Services: 3.7%
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing and Sales: 3.1%

Most companies that purchase goods from India are located in the United States, making up over 24% of the companies supplied by Indian companies.  Meaning, the United States could feel this disruption keenly if conflict escalates.

Textiles remain a cornerstone of India’s exports – apparel, bedding, linens, and textile furnishings account for over 21% of shipments since 2024. Parts and components that are important for manufacturing finishes goods – rubber parts, plastic parts, and vehicle parts – make up another 10% of India’s shipments since 2024. 

Pakistan’s Export Dynamics

interos.ai’s data shows a robust, albeit smaller, network involving more than 210,000 companies supplying over 46,000 global businesses, with over 1.9 million shipments since 2024. These global businesses also span a wide range of industries – with apparel producers representing the largest share.

Industry Concentration of Companies (Global) Buying from Pakistani Companies:

Apparel Retailers: 7.0%
Consumer Goods: 5.8%
Business Management and Legal Services: 5.4%
Textile Manufacturing: 3.5%

Textile exports dominate Pakistan’s trade profile, with over 70% of shipments comprising apparel, bedding, linens, and other textiles. Most companies that purchase goods from Pakistan are in the United States and the United Kingdom, making up over 22% and 6% of the companies supplied by Pakistani companies, respectively.

What’s at Stake: Breaking the Truce and Regional Implications

The critical question remains: What if the current truce unravels?

Humanitarian and Security Risks: Every escalation brings with it the tragic potential loss of life – not only among combatants but also innocent civilians. The region’s volatile nature coupled with two nuclear armed countries on both sides means that even limited conflict could spiral rapidly out of control.
Economic Disruptions: Shipping ports have halted as both countries banned imports and access to maritime ports. While the direct impact to trade between the two countries is minimal (less than 1% of India’s total trade volume), a single disruption can cascade downstream through entangled supply chains, escalating in impact. We’ve also already seen Pakistan’s stock exchange halted for an hour, as market rebounds from ceasefire announcements triggered regulatory circuit breakers. Markets remain subject to ongoing geopolitical volatility in the region.
Global Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Modern commerce depends on interlinked supply chains. The interruption in goods from regions like Kashmir and India would reverberate across borders – especially affecting countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and emerging tech sectors seeking to leverage ‘Made in India’ initiatives.

Looking Forward: Navigating Uncertainty in a World on Edge

The unfolding events highlight the complexities at the intersection of geopolitical tension and global trade. While a brief pause in hostilities offers hope for de-escalation, the underlying economic stakes amplify the urgency of a lasting political solution. As decision-makers in both nations weigh security considerations against economic necessities, the world watches – with trade routes, industries, and communities awaiting the next move.

Ultimately, peace isn’t merely the absence of conflict; it’s a prerequisite for economic stability, cultural preservation, and the sustainable development of entire regions. Maintaining a stable environment is essential for ensuring that regions like Kashmir continue to thrive as both cultural treasures and vital trade hubs.

Geopolitical instability has the potential to send cascading tremors through our global, interconnected supply chains.

In a climate of tit-for-tat trade wars with tariffs wreaking havoc on supply chains, managing geopolitical risk is table stakes.

Get in touch to assess where your supply chains leave your organization exposed to geopolitical risk.

Speak to an Expert Today

2025 Tariffs Report: Insights to Navigate Trade Wars & Supply Chain Shocks

Posted on May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 by Lexi Sydow

Global supply chains continue to face growing uncertainty and disruption. As President Trump took office in January, Mexico, Canada and China came under immediate scrutiny as the United States top trade partners.

The US-China trade war escalated with a series of tit-for-tat export controls, tariffs, and commercial agreement realignments threatening an accelerated bifurcation of global supply chains.

As this economic warfare continues to escalate – with each side exerting their market powers – companies of all sizes that ignore these market pressures may become collateral damage.

After a series of on-again off-again tariffs and macroeconomic aftershocks, global trade hangs in the balance.

What’s caught in the cross-fire? Supply chains.

How do companies seek stability amid an escalating global trade war?

How do they minimize risk of $100 million disruptions?

Read our Tariffs Report Today for Insights into:

Trump’s Tariffs Timeline
Market chaos in 2025 – which countries are facing 32x increases in tariff rates
Magnitude of disruption to critical products like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, lumber, automobiles and steel and aluminum
Financial fallout and market volatility from “Liberation Day” tariffs
The plight of empty shelves – which markets are already seeing double-digit drop-off in shipments of holiday goods to the US
What actions you can take today to avoid tariff’s wreaking havoc on your supply chains

Download Report

interos.ai Joins World Economic Forum’s Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour

Posted on May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 by interos.ai

At interos.ai, we believe transparency isn’t just a compliance checkbox, it’s a catalyst for global change.

We are proud to announce our participation in the Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour, an invitation-only initiative convened by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with a coalition of forward-thinking global leaders including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Agility, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

This partnership was created with a bold goal: to accelerate the global fight against forced labor by closing data gaps, improving transparency and fostering coordinated, cross-sector action.

Forced labor remains one of the most persistent and pervasive human rights violations in modern supply chains, with an estimated 28 million people trapped in exploitative conditions across the globe. From debt bondage and wage theft to child labor and state-imposed forced labor, these abuses are not isolated to one geography or industry. The reality is they are deeply systemic and addressing them requires unified, data-driven solutions.

AI-Powered Insights for a More Ethical Supply Chain

At interos.ai, we are reshaping how organizations identify and eliminate forced labor from their supply chains. Our AI-powered platform provides real-time visibility into over 230 million supply chain entities scored, more than 11 billion supplier relationships mapped across the industry’s largest knowledge graph, surfacing hidden risks tied to unethical labor practices and enabling organizations to act before violations occur. Its enhanced ESG risk model draws from global datasets, including ESG Book, regulatory watchlists and proprietary ownership networks, to identify forced labor threats at both country and firm levels.

As part of this collaboration, we are committed to helping bridge the critical data divide that has historically impeded progress on this issue. We believe that AI, combined with strategic partnerships and a relentless focus on accountability, can drive real change.

In a world where supply chain responsibility is non-negotiable, interos.ai is proud to stand with other leaders to build a more transparent, ethical, and resilient global economy, one free from forced labor.

Discover how our platform can support your ESG and risk management priorities, get in touch here.

2025 RSA Conference Highlights and Takeaways from Our SVP, Applied AI

Posted on May 7, 2025May 8, 2025 by Andrea Little Limbago

interos.ai’s own Dr. Andrea Little Limbago, SVP of Applied AI, discusses her takeaways and highlights from this year’s RSA Conference. Original post is authored here.

This year was different. As tens of thousands of security practitioners descended on San Francisco, it was against a backdrop of global uncertainty. From the near-term economic fluctuations to the daunting horizon of 2027 when some futurists predict the onset of artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others forecast a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the macro-environment permeated discussions much more so than in the past. For some, a natural inclination might be to revert inwards or accept a nihilistic perspective. Instead, after four intense days, my key takeaways highlight the progress, collaboration, and actions that are already underway to help advance security in an uncertain future.

Global Shifts

This year, I was fortunate to present twice on the shifting environment at the intersection of cybersecurity, geopolitics, and AI. In the first presentation, we focused on the strategic impact of the pager attacks, and whether they will demarcate a ‘before ‘and ‘after’-times for cyber norms. Specifically, we addressed the weaponization of supply chains for geopolitical objectives – a topic fueling resilience conversations at interos.ai. The consensus is, although we have not yet seen successful, copycat attempts, we are indeed in a new era of cyber norms and should expect to see supply chains weaponized – even lethally – in the future.

In the second presentation, an amazing panel and an engaged audience debated which regime type will best leverage AI – authoritarians or democracies? While democracies have the first mover advantage, due to IP theft, investment control, and lax guardrails, authoritarians currently have the advantage. The panel was split on whether this advantage will persist.

I have spent over a decade covering the intersection of geopolitics and cybersecurity. The interest in this topic this year compared to the past is incomparable. In my own presentations, and elsewhere throughout RSA, there was a much stronger interest and engagement in this topic. The dramatic transition from previous years where there was minimal interest except in niche parts of the community to a more widespread acknowledgement of this growing risk was extremely stark.

Secure (AI) by Design

Undoubtedly, AI was the buzzword of the conference. There were several hundred presentations on AI, both for offense and defense, governance and compliance, for good and for malicious objectives. As a member of the AI and Security program committee, I also had the privilege to assess the key trends from the research community, which not only addressed the potential misuse of AI, but also introduced innovations in securing the AI supply chain.

With examples of AI manipulation ranging from LLM grooming to malware development to security bypass features, there is growing awareness of this growing risk. Researchers and organizations are actively implementing new defenses and solutions to support AI innovations while introducing guardrails to minimize misuse. If acquisitions are any metric of the growing interest and monetization behind secure AI, then there are strong signals that secure AI will be a growing requirement and necessity as the world charges ahead toward AGI.

Many Voices. One Community.

“Many Voices. One Community.’ was this year’s RSA conference theme. The value of collaboration and community was iterated throughout the week. While participating on a panel for the Infra Gard National Cyber Defenders seminar, we discussed the challenges of supply chain and third-party risk, and frequently highlighted the necessity to work together, both internally across departments as well as across the supply chain. A similar theme emerged during the NightDragon panel on The Future of AI, which focused on the monumental innovations already underway as well as the urgent role of communities and collaboration across all aspects of cybersecurity.

As a member of the Global Council for Responsible AI (GCRAI), I have the honor to collaborate with leaders in this field from across the globe, knowing that cybersecurity – and secure and ethical AI – is not an issue we can address alone, but rather teamwork and collaboration are key.

Impact and Teamwork

On the last day of the RSA Conference, I was fortunate to attend a panel addressing the cyber poverty line, wherein the majority of businesses lack the resources to secure their networks in today’s threat landscape. Among the many insights, it was noted that there are 73% fewer cyber insurance claims when larger, well-resourced companies provide technical or other forms of support to their key suppliers, who suffer disproportionately from successful cyber attacks. Teamwork is critical to raising the security posture across supply chains, including those well-resourced companies who benefit from supplier security.

In true spirit of this year’s theme, Wednesday’s keynote by basketball legend and entrepreneur, Magic Johnson, personified the core take-aways from the week. He, too, stressed the role of teamwork and impact, acknowledging the range of teams that have been critical to his own success. He also identified how to leverage competition to make yourself, and your team, better and more resilient. At a time of growing geopolitical competition, we must lead by example, work together to build resilient communities, and use the comparative advantage of partnerships and alliances to create a more secure tomorrow.

We are here to be your partner on the path to eliminating risk from your supply chain and building a more resilient future. interos.ai maps and monitors risk by using AI to surface what matters most to help you uncover risk before catastrophe strikes.