

Publish Date
25/07/2024
Categories
Blogs Hot Topic
The recent CrowdStrike failure was indeed an unfortunate event, causing significant disruption across many organisations. However, it also provided a stark illustration of the potential consequences when critical systems are compromised. Unlike a cyber attack, this outage demonstrated how even non-malicious failures can have far-reaching impacts.
Downtime, regardless of its cause, can have devastating effects on a business. These range from loss of revenue and inaccessible data to diminished customer confidence and, ultimately, loss of business.
In the case of ransomware attacks, the impact can be even more severe, comparable to the dreaded “blue screen of death” experienced worldwide last week. While a blue screen may have straightforward solutions, ransomware attacks often leave organisations without viable workarounds. This leads to significant operational disruptions, data loss, and financial repercussions. Essentially, a ransomware attack is like a blue screen of death—for all the data in your business.
The CrowdStrike outage affected a vast number of users, highlighting the vulnerability of even the most robust systems. The incident underscored the critical need for businesses to have strong cybersecurity measures in place, not only to prevent attacks but also to ensure quick recovery from unforeseen failures.
The financial impact of IT downtime is staggering. According to a report from MSN, companies are losing billions every year due to IT downtime. This loss is not just due to ransomware but also from unexpected system failures, like the one experienced by CrowdStrike. Despite these recurring issues, many organisations are not improving their ability to fix such problems promptly.
However, the facts show that the chance of downtime is increasing, with the ‘it’s not if, it’s when’ mantra commonplace amongst cyber security experts.
According to the Hiscox Cyber Insurance Readiness Report 2023:
These statistics emphasise the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures and quick incident response protocols.
This recent event has served as a wake-up call for businesses to reassess their IT strategies. It is crucial to invest in robust protective measures, proactive threat detection, and swift incident response protocols. Many organisations operate under the false assumption that “it won’t happen to us” until it does. The CrowdStrike outage is a powerful reminder that downtime can strike any business, at any time.
Who is Responsible?
It’s essential to have clear accountability within your organisation for managing cybersecurity risks. Typically, the IT Lead is responsible for the overarching cybersecurity strategy. However, every employee has a role to play in maintaining security protocols and reporting suspicious activities.
As Microsoft advises,
“In the event of an outage or disruption to the Service, you may temporarily not be able to retrieve Your Content. We recommend that you regularly backup Your Content and Data that you store on the Services or store using Third-Party Apps and Services.”
This highlights the importance of regular data backups and having a well-defined disaster recovery plan in place.
Lessons Learned and Moving Forward
The disruption experienced during the CrowdStrike failure serves as a sobering reminder of the critical need for robust protective measures. To mitigate the risks associated with IT downtime, businesses should consider the following steps:
Conclusion
In conclusion, 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 minimise 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 ever there was a wake-up call required around the impact of downtime, last week provided a stark reminder. If you are 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, please fill in this form.
Stay Secure.
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