Today’s security landscape reflects threat convergence — a reality where no catastrophe remains localized and the lines between physical and cyber threats and war and peace blur. The result is a cascade of globally interconnected crises, accelerated by the splintering of the American-led order that has dominated geopolitics since 1945. A shipping disruption in the Suez, a pathogen outbreak in Eastern China, a terrorist attack in Southern Israel or even a policy U-turn in Washington — any of these events, once contained by geography or bureaucratic inertia, can now trigger sector-wide disruptions and boardroom emergencies. Conflict now extends beyond governments and nation-states, placing businesses of every size on the front lines.

Pawns of grand strategy

Using companies for mercantilist or geopolitical ends is nothing new. From colonial-era trade monopolies to Cold War-era technology embargoes, states have historically leveraged corporations as instruments of economic warfare. However, today’s efforts to undermine other nations do not stop with overt economic methods. A rising number of insidious attacks have recently taken place using tools such as arson, sabotage, ransomware, hacking or damaging infrastructure and even assassination. These irregular warfare tactics have blurred the distinction between war and peace, placing the boardroom on the front line of conflict.

Global Guardian’s 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment explains that hostile state actors have been ramping up attacks on the private sector using methods lacking conventional war trappings. 

The logic is simple: Private enterprises are the backbone of a state’s strategic potential. They operate critical infrastructure, extract and process raw materials and conduct cutting-edge AI and semiconductor research. As debt-servicing costs rise and societies move beyond the neoliberal order, nations increasingly tie their geopolitical influence to financial and economic resilience rather than efficiency. In this contest of capabilities, attacking a rival’s private industry has become a primary means of weakening their overall strategic position. Stability in everything from sourcing and operations to market access is no longer a given.

Hackers affiliated with Russia, China and Iran have hacked key systems throughout the US for years. But in the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, members of the “Axis of Disorder” — China, Russia, North Korea and Iran — have dramatically increased efforts to harm Western firms, albeit in different ways. Across the globe, saboteurs are cutting communications lines, starting conspicuous fires at manufacturing plants and suspicious aircraft incidents — the list goes on. In 2024, Russia launched a series of attempts to assassinate key defense industry executives across Europe. 

Even more concerning are the fat-tail threats of opportunistic and synchronized actions involving two or more members of the “Axis of Disorder” that are underestimated by both Western policy makers and business leaders. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Congress in 2024 that Chinese hackers are penetrating US cyber systems in preparation for possible attacks on critical infrastructure to coincide with an invasion or blockade of Taiwan. 

Not only does irregular warfare put corporations in the crosshairs of adversarial nations, but the threat of major conflict is dramatically increasing as we reach a showdown over Iran’s nuclear program and as the disincentives for China “reunifying” with Taiwan fade. Last summer’s Congressional Commission on the National Defense Strategy assessed, “The threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war.” 

Great powers fight wars in our companies, markets and economies. Even without a formal declaration of war, rival nations constantly battle for the top, and corporations are their battlefields.

Preparing to play

The threat of malicious actions from hostile nations is a reality that corporations must prepare for. Whether we like it or not, Western businesses are actors in a zero-sum game, and there is no neutral territory. 

No one-size-fits-all solution exists, but one universally bad solution is inaction. Understanding and addressing your vulnerabilities is essential to navigating this new, turbulent world order.

Companies must perform regular, robust security audits to identify physical or digital vulnerabilities. Bringing in a third party to conduct a thorough security analysis can highlight weaknesses that have become familiar features of a company. Areas to search for flaws include: your company’s hardware and software, internet and telecommunications systems, the ability to ascertain the location of your executive team and any gaps in physical security, including access control, camera surveillance and actual guards. By proactively detecting vulnerabilities, businesses can inform their defenses against a potential attack on their operations or personnel.

Once weaknesses are detected, prompt action is required. Whether it’s monitoring social discourse to identify heightened risks or enforcing robust multi-factor authentication to prevent cyberattacks, businesses must act to protect themselves from the rising threats of irregular warfare. Partnering with security firms can free companies to focus on their operations while experts assess and adjust their systems to strengthen physical and digital access control around the clock.

Training is paramount. Turn your biggest vulnerability–people–into your greatest asset. Too often, user error, emotional reasoning and pressure can overwhelm employees into making bad decisions that open the physical or digital gates to intrusion. Managers must train all employees to recognize threats and inform the appropriate personnel if they sense one. Just like in building fire drills, practice improves outcomes. Commit to regular cybersecurity awareness training and run your security incident response plans in real life. Use the insights from feedback to drive improvement in your various crisis response plans.

Finally, it is incumbent on corporate decision-makers to walk through the “what-if” and explore various scenarios that could arise from the current threat landscape. This promotes resiliency and business continuity and protects the workforce and the topline. High-level tabletop exercises and scenario gaming allow key decision makers to strategically allocate resources, diversify operations and develop contingency plans for navigating the increasingly volatile geopolitical climate. 

We will fundamentally alter how we conduct international business in the coming years. Our new chaotic era creates global tensions that heighten local risks, and vice versa. Moreover, the entire global security architecture is undergoing a rewrite by everyone with a large enough pen. Businesses are liable to become collateral damage in a conflict to which they may not realize they are a party. Companies must adapt to the realities of modern warfare. Those that fail will jeopardize their viability; those that succeed will profit and strengthen our nation’s economic foundation.

[Liam Roman edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.