"A risk assessment of the Piql Services" by FFI

The three indicators used to make the classification were chosen because together they comprise an adequate description of the characteristics of a country. Climate describes the relevant pieces of information needed about the geographical setting; developmental level encompasses aspects such as economy, education and health; and political stability incorporates issues of government and politics, and to an extent, past history, culture and demographics. The decision to include these indicators instead of others was inherent to the nature of the Piql Preservation Services and thus the threats and hazards it might face. Including climate is important to take into account hazards threatening the physical properties of the piqlVault, piqlBox and piqlFilm. Developmental level and level of political stability was chosen in order to establish, first, the different kinds of threats most likely faced when storing varying degrees of sensitive information, and, second, what kind of safety and security measures one could expect to be present in the vault. It is, however, important to keep in mind that what classifies these indicators for a given zone today may not be the same in 200 or 500 years. Climate change may have a negative effect on the climate in a region; changes in world trade and economy may increase one country’s developmental level while decreasing another’s; and world events may significantly alter the political stability of a country. Such radical changes in the settings surrounding our object of study are matters we need to be aware of in our risk assessment. Yet, we cannot base our assessment on guesswork and fortune telling: we must base it on what we know to be true today and likely trends in the future. That is why the indicators are described according to the present circumstances. Table 5.1 presents the details of the indicators for the different zones, including the potential hazards and threats associated with that indicator most likely to harm a piqlVault in a given zone.

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FFI-RAPPORT 16/00707