CrowdStrike: Discover the Lessons to Be Heeded

The recent CrowdStrike outage was a significant disruption for many organizations, shedding light on the substantial consequences of critical system failures. Unlike cyberattacks, this incident demonstrated that even non-malicious failures could have extensive impacts. Here, we delve into the lessons that businesses should learn from this event to fortify their systems against future disruptions.

Build a Resilient Culture

One of the primary takeaways from the CrowdStrike outage is the importance of having a resilient culture within an organization. It’s not just about having a crisis management framework but regularly testing it to identify and address any vulnerabilities. This proactive approach ensures that when a real crisis occurs, the organization can handle it effectively and minimize damage.

Downtime: The Stark Reality

Regardless of its cause, downtime can have devastating effects on a business, including:

• Loss of Revenue: When systems are down, business operations halt, leading to immediate financial losses.
• Inaccessible Data: Critical business data becomes unavailable, affecting decision-making and productivity.
• Diminished Customer Confidence: Customers may lose trust in the reliability of your services.
• Loss of Business: Prolonged downtime can drive customers to competitors.

In the case of ransomware attacks, the situation can be even worse. Such attacks often leave organizations with no viable workarounds, causing severe operational disruptions, data loss, and financial repercussions.

The CrowdStrike outage highlighted the vulnerability of even the most robust systems, underscoring the need for strong cybersecurity measures to prevent attacks and ensure quick recovery from unforeseen failures.

“It Won’t Happen to Us”

The financial impact of IT downtime is staggering. Companies are losing billions annually due to unexpected system failures like the CrowdStrike outage. Despite this, many organizations still fail to improve their ability to address these issues promptly. The reality is that the chance of downtime is increasing, and the mantra “it’s not if, it’s when” is becoming commonplace among cybersecurity experts.

Small businesses are often prime targets for malicious emails, with one in 323 being harmful. Additionally, the average office worker receives 121 emails per day. Alarmingly, one-third of small businesses with 50 or fewer employees rely on free consumer-grade cybersecurity solutions. The Hiscox Cyber Insurance Readiness Report 2023 revealed:

• Cyberattacks rose for the third year running, with 53% of firms suffering an attack, up from 48% last year.
• One in eight attacked businesses suffered costs of AED 1,200,000 or more.
• In three years, the proportion of firms with fewer than ten employees attacked rose by more than half to 36%.
• One in five firms received a ransom demand, but those paying fell from 66% to 63%. Less than half of those who paid recovered all their data.

These statistics emphasize the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures and quick incident response protocols.

Who is Responsible?

Clear accountability within an organization for managing cybersecurity risks is essential. Typically, the IT Lead is responsible for the overarching cybersecurity strategy, but every employee has a role in maintaining security protocols and reporting suspicious activities. As Microsoft advises, regular data backups and having a well-defined disaster recovery plan are crucial.

Lessons Learned & Moving Forward:

The CrowdStrike outage serves as a wake-up call for businesses to reassess their IT strategies. To mitigate the risks associated with IT downtime, consider the following steps:

• Invest in Robust Cybersecurity Infrastructure: Ensure your systems are protected against both external threats and internal failures.
• Implement Proactive Threat Detection: Continuously monitor for potential vulnerabilities and address them before they cause harm.
• Develop Swift Incident Response Protocols: Have a clear and practiced plan for responding to IT incidents to minimize downtime and recovery time.
• Cybersecurity Accountability: Clear accountability in managing cybersecurity risks is crucial, typically led by the IT Lead, ensuring no single point of failure.

The CrowdStrike outage has provided valuable lessons on the cost of downtime. No one thinks it will happen to them—until it does. By learning from these experiences and taking proactive measures, businesses can better safeguard their operations and minimize the financial and operational impact of future disruptions.

As a Managed Service Provider (MSP), we are committed to providing and maintaining secure and resilient IT infrastructures. If you’re interested in mitigating the risk of downtime and want a no-obligation discussion around email security, backup & disaster recovery, or security awareness and testing for staff, contact us now: email: sales.uae@cobweb.com or call +971 4 455 3100.