Since the external environment on a global level is very unstable, recovering from various unexpected shocks becomes a challenging question for all countries. Thus, for each country it is necessary to understand its weaknesses and threats. Further, the preparation for any level of uncertainty in various fields must be imperative. Even for the most unpredictable shocks such as pandemic, cyberthreat, or even war. The aim of the article is to evaluate the state resilience of the Baltic States by creating the national resilience index. A state’s resilience is based on four pillars: economic, social, good governance, and defence. The methodology is based the SAW method, data has been collected from NATO and Eurostat databases. As the result of the study, resilience index has been estimated for each year from 2015 to 2022. Results revealed vulnerability and problematic areas of each country.

A smart city focuses on enhancing and interconnecting facilities and services through digital technology to offer convenient services for both people and businesses. The basic infrastructure of smart cities consists of modern technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and artificial intelligence. These urban areas utilize different networks, such as the Internet and IoT, to share real-time information, improving convenience for the inhabitants. However, the reliance of smart cities on modern technologies exposes them to a range of organized, diverse, and sophisticated cyber threats. Therefore, prioritizing cybersecurity awareness and implementing appropriate measures and solutions are essential to protect the privacy and security of citizens. This study aims to identify cyber threats and their impact on smart cities, as well as the methods and measures required for key areas such as smart government, smart healthcare, smart mobility, smart environment, smart economy, smart living, and smart people. Furthermore, this study seeks to evaluate previous research in this field, establish necessary policies to mitigate these threats, and propose an appropriate model for the infrastructure associated with IT networks in smart cities.

The need for forest products, agricultural expansion, and dependency on biomass for the household energy source has largely influenced Ethiopia’s forest resources. Consequently, the country lost its forest resources to less than 6% until the millennium. In this study, quantitative and qualitative historical data analysis was employed to understand the socioeconomic benefits of large dam construction to Ethiopia and downstream countries. Moreover, remotely sensed data was also used to analyze the trends of vegetation cover change in the Nile catchment since the commencement of the dam; focusing on areas where there are high settlement and urban areas. It was identified that Ethiopia has one of the lowest electricity consumption per capita in Africa; about 91% of the source of household energy supply depends on fuelwood today and more than 55.7% of the population does not have access to electricity. The normalized difference vegetation index result shows an increment of vegetation area in the Nile catchment and a reduction of no vegetation area from 2011–2021 by 37.1%; which is directly related to the protection of the dam catchment for its sustainability in the last decade. The hydroelectric dam construction has prospects of multi-benefit to Ethiopia and downstream countries either through the direct benefit of hydropower energy production, related socioeconomic values, and reducing risks of destructive flood from Ethiopian highlands. Generally, it explains the reason why to not say ‘No’ to the reservoir as it is an ever more vital tool for fulfilling growing energy demand and supporting ecological stability.

The technological infrastructure is the basis for the successful implementation and operation of information systems in small and medium enterprises. The study aimed to demonstrate the impact of cybersecurity on entrepreneurship strategies in small and medium enterprises. Through technological infrastructure in Balqa Governorate. The study population consisted of small and medium enterprises in Balqa Governorate in Jordan. The study followed the descriptive analytical approach and relied on the questionnaire to collect data. The sample size was 360 individuals were randomly select. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was use to analyze the data. The study reached a set of results, including that the management of small and medium enterprises is committed to continuous supervision and control of customer information. Dealing with reliable parties to ensure the confidentiality of information, following strict standards for disclosure and circulation of customer data and information based on legal texts. Maintaining the privacy of customers’ financial data, in addition to supporting the successes of individuals based on the personal efforts of employees, providing a suitable work environment for employees, sustaining excellence and achievement, and working to increase awareness among its employees of the importance of innovation and creativity in work. The study recommended that customer data confidentiality should be consider a top priority for small and medium enterprises. The data should be stored in more than one place at the same time, that project websites should follow a privacy policy, and that the customer’s identity should be verify before submitting his data and documents, by involving employees in small and medium enterprises in specialized courses and workshops to demonstrate the importance of data and information confidentiality.

[Objective]In order to explore the sustainable food security level in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, ensure food security and sustainable development of agricultural modernization, it is necessary to establish a scientific food security evaluation system to safeguard local food security.[Methods]This paper takes the food system of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China as the research object, based on the food security research results at home and abroad, based on sustainable development thinking, combined with a new perspective of dynamic equilibrium research: Beginning with food normalcy, a comprehensive analysis of food production, food economy, social development, ecological security, and technical support for sustainable development is presented using the entropy-weighted TOPSIS model to build a food security evaluation system for sustainable development. [Conclusion]After systematic analysis, it is concluded that (1) the average value of food security score of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2008 to 2021 is 0.429, and the overall food in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is in general security level (0.400 ≤ Q1 ≤ 0.600), and the overall situation of food security is not optimistic, (2) from the segmentation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the high and low level of food security are divided into sections: midstream > downstream > upstream, and each province and city is slowly rising to different degrees. In this way, we propose general countermeasures to ensure local food security from the perspective of sustainable development.