The Panama Canal is operating with draft restrictions due to a severe drought related to El Niño last week. The last five months have been the driest dry season in the history of the canal. Water levels on Gatun Lake and in the New Panamax locks are dropping. Since April, vessels transiting the New Panamax locks are restricted to drafts less than 44 feet. A further restriction of the maximum drafts to less than 43 feet was to go into effect, but it has been postponed. To comply with the draft restrictions, carriers have reduced their cargo stowage.

We asses that regular cargo shipments that transit the Panama Canal are likely to be further delayed as Panamax and New Panamax ships will have to transit the canal with smaller cargo loads. Unless the region receives significant rainfall that would recharge the water levels in the next month or two, it is highly likely that carriers will have to restrict or roll bookings to meet the maximum draft requirements. As the current draft restriction is the fifth since the beginning of 2019, it is likely that further reductions will occur in the medium term. In June, it is highly likely that vessels arriving at the canal locks with drafts exceeding the limit will be required to trim or off-load cargo. Advisories to Shipping, on the Canal's website, informs clients promptly of any further adjustment, as to permit them to plan accordingly.

Last week, at least 29 tornadoes struck across Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois states in the Unites States along with heavy rainfall, large hail, strong winds, and severe thunderstorms. At least three people died and nine were injured in Missouri, and a strong tornado demolished portions of the state capital; no deaths occurred, but first responders took at least 20 residents to local hospitals. In Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, severe straight-line winds damaged structures, downed trees and powerlines, and caused power outages. Reports of large hail in Missouri, and Illinois described hailstones as large as 3 inches in diameter, which shattered vehicle windshields and windows of buildings, and damaged structures and roofs. Heavy rains caused localized flooding across the affected regions. The National Weather Service has forecast that the severe weather will continue.  

We find it highly likely that the ongoing severe weather this week, and the destruction caused by it, will impact business operations and workforce availability in the affected regions, as well as the interstate transportation corridors and airport flight operations in the short term. Fallen trees, floodwater, and debris are blocking roads causing delays, and it is likely that cellular communications are limited in some areas hit by tornadoes. Additionally, regional power companies are responding to damaged power distribution systems; but with further storms and tornadoes likely during the evening and overnight hours slowing their progress, power lines likely will remain down for several days in some areas. Further, in the immediate term, local authorities have prioritized rescue and search missions. We find it likely that hazardous conditions will continue affecting clients with operations in the Plains and the Midwest regions in the U.S. as weather reports forecast intense storms with rainfall, strong winds, and flash flooding in the upcoming days. These circumstances will impact the agricultural sector as the recurrent flooding has delayed spring planting in large portions of the Midwest and Plains regions. Unless directly engaged in search and recovery efforts with state authorities, we recommend that clients unaffected by the severe weather avoid entering high-damage zones to keep areas clear for emergency responders. 

Last week in Mexico, the Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis declared an"extraordinary environmental emergency" due to the high levels of PM 2.5, an atmospheric particulate matter, and ozone in Mexico City and surrounding states. 

In Brazil, thousands of university professors and students protested nation wide against cuts on the federal budget affecting higher education in the country last week. 

A group of gunmen attacked a coal mine operation and detonated a bomb last week in the Harnai District in northeastern Balochistan province of Pakistan, killing at least five people and injuring one. 

About 15 Greenpeace activists conducted a demonstration in Sydney, Australia to demand that political parties take action against climate change and recognize the climate emergency. 

The Portuguese parliament rejected a retroactive wage increase for the teachers' union last week, worth 635 million euros, arguing that public finances cannot sustain the expenditure. 

In the U.S., Weather reports informed that heavy rainfall last week caused floods and the Mississippi River's water levels to increase in Louisiana, severely affecting New Orleans.

Last week in Pakistan, an outbreak of Human Immunodeficient Virus was reported in the cities of Ratodero and Naudero, in the district ofLarkana in the province of Sindh. 

The Nigerian Interior Minister informed last week that at least 55 people were killed and at least 30 were injured after a gasoline tanker truck exploded during the evening of May 5.

In Russia, Flight SU 1492 of the Russian airline Aeroflot had to make an emergency landing right after take-off last week. Due to technical problems, the aircraft caught fire at the Moscow international airport. 

Different businesses and hotels in western Jamaica declared last week their support for the declaration of States of Public Emergency in St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland.

Open sources reported recently that Sudanese demonstrators pledged to organize protests in several embassies across Europe and the United States. 

In Turkey, the High Election Board announced last week that the Istanbul elections will be held again on June 23, after the board dismissed the previous results, blaming irregularities in the counting process. 

As disclosed recently, Vodafone Italy discovered backdoors in Huawei equipment, including home internet network routers and Vodafone's line network infrastructure. 

In the US, a security researcher from GDI Foundation found a leak in a database from Ladders, a popular New York-based job recruitment website which focuses on high-end jobs. 

As disclosed last week, cybersecurity specialists from Cisco Talos have detected that hackers are benefiting from the vulnerability found in Oracle Web Logic Service to spread ransomware named Sodinokib. 

In Nigeria, local authorities reported last week that a group kidnapped three oil workers of the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources in Ogbele.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of reforms last week as a result of the Yellow Vest movement and the three-month political exercise where the president held debates across France to hear the citizen's concerns. 

Chinese and U.S. negotiators started a round of talks in Beijing recently to move closer to a trade deal and end an international dispute that has weighed on the global economy. 

 Last week, eight coordinated explosions occurred throughout Sri Lanka. 

It was reported recently that the Congolese rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces is highly likely to be tied to the Islamic State, as a news agency of IS claimed that the identified terrorist group was responsible for its first attack inBeni, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Last week in the Philippines, it was reported that a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Luzon.

In Malaysia, a water disruption was announced in Selangor State last week

The Urgence Quebec in Canada reported last week that more than 1,500 residents of the province had been evacuated due to six severe floods. 

In theU.S., it was reported last week that floodwaters, produced by a storm system affecting western and northern Texas, inundated Dallas Fort Worth's airport garage and thus affected a dozen parked vehicles.

Last week in India, hundreds of Jet Airways' employees protested in Mumbai and New Delhi, after the airline declared the suspension of all operations. The airline announced the grounding of all its fleet after they failed to obtain emergency funds from the banks of India. Protesters demanded the government issue a bailout to avoid the cessation of operations. Several employees accused the airline of not issuing pay for months. The company stated that the suspension is likely to be temporary. At least 20,000 employees are at risk. The airline daily operated around 600 flights. However, all of them were canceled. The company owes large sums to its suppliers, oil companies, pilots, and lessors.

We find it unlikely that Jet Airways will resume operations in the short term as the company undergoes an economic crisis that is unlikely to resolve. We assess the demonstrations are likely to increase and spread in more Indian cities due to the uncertainty and lack of clear response from the company. Also, it is highly likely that numerous people will be fired from the company, further exacerbating the protest activity. We advise all clients operating in India to allot for travel and logistics delays from road blockages and airport interruptions, particularly those in Mumbai and New Delhi. We recommend that clients review employee travel itineraries for any Jet Airways flights and adjust for canceled flights.

In India, cybersecurity researchers announced last week that personally identifiable information of at least 100 million JustDial users was compromised due to an unprotected API endpoint on the company's database. The users' data of the Mumbai-based company JustDial, the most important local internet search service in India, has been unprotected since 2015, and all the personal information of customers was left exposed. It was stated that the information of users that have used the JustDial services through the mobile app, website, or calling to the 8888 8888 customer line were likely to be included among the affected costumers. The exposed information includes email, name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, company, photo, and even the purchasing history of clients. JustDial has operations in around 250 Indian cities and has branches in 11 cities. 

We assess that all clients who have used the services of JustDial are likely to have their PII compromised and that they will likely face affectations in the medium to long term as attackers are likely to use that information for malicious ends. We advise clients to deploy security protocols to avoid the indiscriminate use of their data. Furthermore, we recommend avoiding access to the JustDial services as the company has not made any statement regarding the exposure and the database continues to be unprotected. Additionally, it is suggested to monitor all credit and debit card activity in case the information is used by attackers. 

In the UK, news outlets reported recently that around 650 British people, represented by Hayes Connor Solicitors, are claiming for damages that go up to 5 million British pounds, or around 7 million dollars US, against the ticket seller company, as they were victims of fraudulent transactions. More than 40,000 UK citizens have been affected by a security breach in Ticketmaster that took place in June 2018, when the firm was hacked. The issue was addressed on April 3, 2019, at the High Court in Liverpool. Ticketmaster declared that the hack was caused by a third-party customer support product of Inbenta Technologies and that the case was reported to the Information Commissioner's office. Hayes Connor Solicitors stated that negotiations with Ticketmaster have been unsuccessful. Further, its clients have presented stress and anxiety after being victims of hacking attempts, knowing their money and personal data could be used for fraudulent activities. 

We find it likely that this security breach will continue to affect users in the medium term as Ticketmaster has not declared that the problem has been resolved. Being Ticketmaster is a popular international ticket seller site, the information of thousands of clients is likely to be compromised when purchasing through its website. As the ticket seller admitted, on June 27, 2018, as a result of the attack, both personal and payment data of many of its clients was accessed by an unknown third party. Since then, the people affected have not received an adequate response from the firm. We recommend clients that are planning to buy event tickets online to take precautionary measures, especially if they reside in the UK.

Per reports earlier this month, a security researcher addressed a vulnerability in Xiaomi's MI and Mint browsers for non-Xiaomi Android devices. This vulnerability consists of a flaw in the browser's interface which allows malicious websites to control the URLs shown in the address bar. This browser address bar tricking issue could be used to mislead Xiaomi's users, making them believe they are accessing a trustful website when, in fact, they are visiting a site with phishing or malicious content. It has been reported that the vulnerability only affects international versions of the browsers and not the Chinese versions. Despite reporting the error in Xiaomi's latest web browsers, as of this writing, it has not been patched.

We expect the flaw to continue to affect Xiaomi's users outside of China as the company has not declared that it will release a patched version soon. Therefore, many clients are currently exposed as both web browsers are commonly used. On April 4, researchers found another issue in pre-installed apps on more than 150 million Xiaomi's Android manufactured phones. This other recent vulnerability allowed hackers to turn a pre-installed security app, called Guard Provider, into a malware. We recommend clients with Android phones to use browsers such as Chrome or Firefox to avoid this vulnerability present until now in Xiaomi's web browsers. Further, clients are advised to remain aware of Xiaomi's announcements on the matter.

Recent weather reports indicated that heavy rainfall will continue in the Midwest and Great Plains regions of the U.S. increasing the damage caused by flooding over the last days. It is also expected that snowfall in the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin that could exacerbate the situation. The Mississippi River water level has overflowed causing severe disturbances in the infrastructure in these states. According to media reports, the flooding in the region has caused 3 billion dollars U.S. in damages, and the most affected sector has been agriculture, especially with the crops and livestock losses. Many residents have been forced to evacuate the affected areas.

We assess that the weather forecasts indicate that the flooding situation could continue until mid-May in the Farm Belt region. Additionally, the authorities have discovered ruptured dikes on many rivers including the Missouri, Platte, and Elkhorn which could represent a major risk in the long-term. The heavy rainfall forecasted for the coming week will likely worsen the situation. We find that the flooding has had an impact on the road conditions in the region, where delays and transport cancellations could be expected, affecting the operations in the region. Furthermore, the flooding conditions could have severe health risk for the resident, livestock and the land in the long term because the water could create a favorable environment for different types of bacteria to reproduce. Given the delicate health situation, we recommend clients in the affected areas to follow the authorities' advice and to follow hygiene measures. Also, we advise clients consider the logistics' disruptions caused by the flooding for the clients' business operations. In the U.S., it was recently reported that approximately two million credit cards numbers were stolen from Earl Enterprise Restaurants, including Buca di Beppo, Earl of Sandwich, Planet Hollywood, Chicken Guy!, Mixology, and Tequila Taqueria establishments. The company confirmed the issue when security researchers found the stolen data being sold online; restaurant locations in 40 states were affected, but online purchases were not compromised. Hackers apparently installed malware on the company's point-of-sale systems to appropriate credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates, and some cardholder names. Earl Enterprises states this attack took place between May 23, 2018, and March 18, 2019; however the company assured that the issue is already contained.

We assess that thousands of customers of Earl Enterprises restaurants are likely to be affected by the data breach and may notice suspicious activity on their credit cards. When the issue was confirmed, the company launched a website for customers to verify if their data was compromised. We recommend clients examine their credit/debit card statements for any unusual activity, and notify their banking institution in case of any fraudulent activity.

As reported last week, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency has informed that due to a mistake, the data of 2.3 million beneficiaries of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program was exposed. FEMA declared that it shared the database which contained unnecessary data like date of birth, residential address, and in some cases sensitive data linked to bank accounts with an outside; reportedly, the agency revealed the financial data of at least 1.8 million people affected by the hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey. Currently, the Agency has taken corrective steps to delete the information from the contractor's system; furthermore, it has updated the contract with the contractor to guarantee the compliance of its information exchange and cyber-security protocols. 

We assess that because of the nature of the exposed data, this breach is likely to pose a significant threat to the impacted persons. Fraud and identity theft are the crimes that likely could happen if a malicious actor got a hold of the database. We find it likely that the FEMA will take further actions to prevent future data breaches. At present, it has announced that its workers will have additional training on security and privacy according to the Department of Homeland Security. We assess an even chance that in future contracts of service providers that receive personal data, the FEMA will include as a requirement specific measures linked to cybersecurity and information safekeeping. We advise clients working with the FEMA or similar agencies to assess the probable impacts it could have an obligation to comply with those cyber-security standards. We advise potentially impacted clients or workforce to closely monitor financial and credit statement for any abnormal activity in the medium to long term.

Researchers from Dr. Web firm announced last week the finding of a severe vulnerability in Alibaba's UC Browser for Android. The browser was designed to allow the immediate execution of new plug-ins coming from the company's servers. Nevertheless, the information is sent via an HTTP and not an HTTPS protocol. This flaw would allow an attacker to intercept and modify the information content via a man-in-the-middle attack and send the affected device's browser phishing links, malware, and Trojans that could eventually result in the attacker having complete control of the device. Therefore, the vulnerability has the potential of turning into a catastrophe if UC Browser's servers are compromised because it would allow a hacker to jeopardize millions of devices simultaneously.

We assess that the impact of the vulnerability is high as UC Browser is the second most used Android browser with more than 500 million users. Furthermore, the vulnerability was discovered months ago, and even though the researchers notified the company, there has been no response, and the flaw has not been addressed. We advise all clients using UC Browser and UC Browser mini to uninstall it immediately and wait until the problem is solved to download it once again.

ZOLL Medical Corporation reported a data breach that affected over 275,000 of its customers. The company informed that, during a server migration, e-mails that stored personal data were compromised. The investigation has led them to believe that the information remained exposed from November 8 to December 28, 2018. However, ZOLL did not clarify if attackers had hacked the server or if it was an unintentional mistake; they just informed that a third party was in charge of the exposed archives. At present, the company declared that the compromised data included names, dates of birth, addresses, some social security numbers, and partial medical information. 

Due to the sensitive information that the company left unprotected during the server migration, we assess that the data breach could likely pose a significant threat to the impacted clients. Although it is uncertain if hackers attacked the company's server, it is still worrisome that data remained exposed for over a month. We find it likely that more breaches focused on medical records are going to be disclosed in the long term. A study revealed that from 2010-2017, data breaches in the health sector have increased; thus, indicating the interest of malicious actors in this kind of information. We advise all clients using the devices or software from ZOLL Medical Corporation to be aware if there is any notification from the company. We further recommend exercising caution and closely monitor credit and medical records for any abnormal activity in the medium to long term.

Recently, the aluminum manufacturer Norsk Hydro announced that its main servers had been affected by ransomware, and thus forcing them to halt operations in facilities around Europe and the United States. The company was first attacked on March 18 when its U.S. servers were compromised with a relatively new strain of ransomware known as LockerGoga. Since then, Norsk Hydro's IT team and the Norwegian National Security Agency (NNSA) have been trying to contain the attack. The company announced that the attack affected their production and office operations, but they will continue manual operations in Norway, Brazil, and Qatar to avoid compromising their supply lines.

We assess that the company will continue to experience disruptions in the operations in the immediate future as the IT team have already detected the root problem and will attempt to reboot the system in the following days. The French technology firm Altran Technologies was also attacked with LockerGoga on January 24, forcing the company to shut down their operations for several days until the IT team isolated and contained the attack. We advise all clients to instruct their employees to avoid downloading unknown files and to not open emails from unverified sources, as ransomware is most commonly distributed by these means.