Mineral monopoly | Risk Updates for Weeks of 7 - 21 Apr '25

Hello 👋 get a brew on because these are the top 3 emerging risks between April 7th and April 21st, 2025…Review our report’s terminology here ↗1. Geopolitical & Economic: China’s mineral grip tightens on global supply chains.China controls 70% of rare earth mining and 85% of processing globally. With new export restrictions in place, they’re signalling that minerals essential to EVs, wind turbines, and electronics can - and will - be used as a political weapon.The move mirrors the old U.S.–China trade wars but this time it’s not about tariffs. It’s about minerals that power clean tech, defence, and digital infrastructure, and China holds the key.Why this matters:Without access to rare earths, innovation stalls. Prices rise. Supply chains collapse. Entire industries become vulnerable to geopolitics instead of market forces.2. Technological: AI is now powering high-quality phishing emails at scale.Researchers found that over 80,000 phishing emails were generated using ChatGPT and similar tools. The emails were articulate, polished, and bypassed most spam filters, because they were written like a human, by AI.No hacking. No bypassing security walls. Just pure misuse of open-access tools.Why this matters:Phishing is no longer riddled with typos and sketchy links. AI has raised the game, and anyone can launch convincing, low-effort attacks in seconds.3. Technological: Your data clears debt during a liquidation.23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the real issue is what happens to the 15 million DNA profiles it collected. Under U.S. law, that data can be auctioned off to pay creditors.At the same time, UniSuper and Australian Retirement Trust were hit by quiet, targeted cyberattacks. Not for cash, but for identity data.Why this matters:User data—whether genetic, personal, or financial—is now a tradeable asset in both cybercrime and corporate liquidation. If you store sensitive data, or use services that do, this is your wake-up call.Need support?At Unbreakable Ventures, we are passionate about helping people get through disasters. That’s why our team of Advisors bring you this resource free of charge. If you need help understanding these threats and building a plan against them, the same Advisors are here to help over a 30-minute online call. Once complete, if you like what was provided, you can choose to provide a donation or subscribe to Unreasonable Ventures to support this channel. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unbreakableventures.com