Banks call in consultants for MidEast back-up plans

Financial services firms have enlisted geopolitical advisors for issues from cyber defence to evacuation support. Risk advisory firms have been drafted in by banks, asset managers and law firms to evacuate staff (as need arises) and shore security amidst the escalating war in the Middle East.

“The scale and complexity of some of the Iranian responses have taken lots of clients by surprise, so people are having to test and adjust the procedures they have got in place”, said Phil Miles, associate managing director for enterprise security risk management at advisory firm Kroll.

Miles, who spent the past two decades working at the UK’s foreign office and ministry of defence before joining Kroll, said the top priority for businesses is the safety of their staff and there are “no easy options” when it comes to evacuations.

“We have again advised some clients to go to Oman, should need arise and seek commercial flights there. 

Our understanding now is that if that route is severely congested so perhaps Saudi Arabia is another option”, he said.

The UK government’s chartered flight to evacuate Britons from Muscat failed to take off on March 4 due to a technical issue, eventually departing nearly 24 hours late. Understandably it did cause some concern as a delay under the present circumstances would.

Miles said among the businesses his team is advising, more than half have decided to remain in the region and shelter in place rather than carrying out evacuations, after taking into account local guidance, the size of the team and resources on the ground.

UK law firm Stephenson Harwood said that the firm has put “contingency plans in place, including relocation options” for staff in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Charles Russell Speechlys, which has offices in Bahrain, UAE and Qatar, previously said it had “provided necessary support to those who wish to be evacuated”.

Both law firms said they have brought in extra security advisors to help protect employees in the region.

 In addition to staff security, companies are turning to advisors for analysis of the latest events and scenario planning, according to Nitin Chadda, co-founder of geopolitical firm WestExec, owned by advisory group Teneo.

Chadda, a former political advisor at the White House and the Pentagon, said businesses are looking for “a deep perspective on the nature of the events that are unfolding” and less situation reporting, which news organisations are already covering.

He added: “If you are seeing attacks on particular parts of the economic infrastructure inside Iran or adjacent to Iran, that suggests that the military campaign is going a different trajectory and what does that mean for the business?”

As the conflict continues, the financial services industry is also on high alert for potential cyber attacks which advisors warn will become more prevalent in the weeks ahead.

“(When Iran starts to) run out of munitions and interceptors, those conventional attacks will start to slow. There is a whole range of asymmetric options (such as) sabotage and misinformation”, said Miles. “Clients that have got exposure to strategic ties to the US or Israel will need to be considering those risks”.

The UK’s cybersecurity agency has published an alert advising UK organisations with offices or supply chains in the Middle East to review their cyber security measures.

“Iranian state and Iran-linked cyber actors almost certainly maintain at least some capability to conduct cyber activity”, the National Cyber Security Centre said.

Chadda said cyber espionage is “a top page in the playbook for Iranian actors and proxies” so firms need to bolster their cyber security.