VALUABLE LESSONS FROM GLOBAL IT OUTAGE
Organisations around the world are still recovering from one of the biggest ever IT outages. On Friday 19th July 2024, a glitch caused by a faulty software update from CrowdStrike, an American digital security vendor, affected 8.5million Microsoft Windows devices. Flights were grounded, hospital appointments postponed, and several news broadcasters dropped off air. A fix was rapidly deployed, and many services have resumed, although it will take time for all affected computers to be restored.
The toll will become clearer, but many are counting their blessings that this was only a tech malfunction and not something harder to resolve, like a cyber attack. Still, that a seemingly routine software update can reap such worldwide chaos should serve as a wake-up call. Crashes, hacks and data breaches are a mounting threat as the global economy becomes more digitised and interconnected. Computers and the internet already underpin everything in our business and personal worlds, from stock exchanges and electric vehicles to central heating. The outage has exposed businesses to single points of failure and their need to review Business Continuity Plans (BCPs).
To have effective BCP’s initially businesses need to understand their exposure. Second, once vulnerabilities are mapped, organisations need to build redundancy into their operations and develop contingency plans to ensure critical functions can still work in the worst-case scenarios. Third, changing operational processes for phased rollouts of updates in the future.
This work is not wasted as it is relevant for Cyber and economic attacks not just the issues experienced this month although the software snag is a critical reminder that building resilience into our physical and digital economic systems is essential, and should not be postponed. This will come at a cost, but will bring the benefit of insuring against even costlier threats.
Our team of experienced professionals has the knowledge and expertise to provide objective and unbiased opinions on all your business operations, not just technology. When it comes to choosing a company to buy or work with, due diligence is essential. If your business needs to operate no matter what the circumstances a BCP (Business Continuity Plan) is invaluable. If you want to know more visit https://businesstechnologyleaders.com/soln/audit/ or contact me ([email protected]) today for a confidential and impartial discussion on how we can add value to your business.