Final answer:
Human-caused disasters such as data breaches, fraud, power shutdowns, and impact from environmental changes due to human activities can severely disrupt business continuity. These include both technological failures and consequences of altered environmental conditions leading to frequent natural disasters. International conflicts and economic sanctions further exacerbate these disruptions on a global scale.
Step-by-step explanation:
Human-caused disasters that can disrupt business continuity include a variety of events that impact operations, finances, and security of businesses. Some of these disruptive events are identity theft, financial fraud, national security incidents, extensive power outages, and election interference. Data breaches, in particular, lead to significant chaos and come with high costs, affecting customer trust and resulting in financial losses for businesses. In a technologically reliant world, failures in critical infrastructure such as computing devices can have substantial negative effects on customer services and revenue, as underscored by the dependency of businesses on technology.
Environmental changes instigated by human activity, such as increased greenhouse gas emissions, also lead to more frequent and severe natural disasters, like bushfires, droughts, hurricanes, and floods. These events have indirect effects that include the spreading of diseases, worsening of respiratory conditions, and population dislocation, which altogether can significantly disrupt business operations and supply chains. Furthermore, human expansion into more vulnerable areas increases the likelihood and extent of the impact of these disasters on human populations, thereby compounding the risks to businesses.
Lastly, international conflicts and wars, often caused by or resulting in resource shortages and economic sanctions, can radically reshape the global market and trade dynamics, precipitating swift and severe disruptions in business continuity across the world. This includes direct impacts such as destruction of infrastructure and indirect consequences on global supply chains and financial markets.