Microsoft and Crowdstrike Outage: Building Business Resilience

The recent global technology outage serves as a reminder that even the most sophisticated systems can be impacted by unforeseen events. While initial reports may have sparked cybersecurity concerns, the root cause was identified as human error during a software update, not a malicious attack.

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Incidents like the Crowdstrike outage highlight our reliance on critical IT systems and how vulnerable businesses are when they’re disrupted. Unforeseen events can come in many forms, and not all of them are digital. 

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Here's a broader look at how various incidents can disrupt IT systems and hardware access for employees:

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• Software Outages: Events like the Crowdstrike incident demonstrate the potential impact of software issues on core functionalities. A faulty update or bug can render essential applications and data inaccessible, hindering employee productivity and overall business operations.
• Natural Disasters: Floods, fires, and other natural disasters can cause widespread physical damage to IT infrastructure. This can include servers, network equipment, and even entire data centres. Such events can leave employees without access to critical systems for extended periods.
• Physical Security Incidents: Fire damage or break-ins at business premises can have a similar impact to natural disasters. Physical destruction or theft of hardware can significantly disrupt access to IT systems. Even in situations where hardware remains intact, security concerns might necessitate taking critical systems offline while investigations are ongoing.
• Cybersecurity Attacks: Malicious attacks like ransomware or data breaches can cripple IT infrastructure. Encrypted data or compromised systems can render them inaccessible to employees, leading to significant downtime and operational disruptions.
• Terrorist Attacks: While thankfully less frequent, terrorist attacks can target critical infrastructure, including power grids and communication networks. Such disruptions can have a cascading effect, impacting businesses' ability to function and impeding employee access to IT systems.

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By understanding these different threat vectors, businesses can take a more holistic approach to disaster preparedness. This includes not only data backup and recovery solutions, but also physical security measures, business continuity planning, and robust cybersecurity defences.

Lessons Learned: What Can You Do to Minimise Disruption?

The good news is that the industry is constantly learning and evolving. As a result of the recent outage, providers around the world are scrutinising their processes and implementing even more robust safeguards. But what can businesses do to further strengthen their own resilience against both cyber threats and human error? 

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Here are some key areas to consider:

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• Review Incident Response Plans: Last week’s outage will have tested many incident response plans, was yours fit for purpose? Having a well-defined incident response plan allows you to react quickly and effectively when disruptions occur. 
• Focus on Business Continuity: A strong business continuity plan goes beyond data backup and recovery. Consider scenarios where you might need to operate from a completely new environment. This could involve having readily available backup hardware to restore critical systems quickly, even if your primary infrastructure is unavailable.
• 24/7 Network and Security Monitoring: Consider leveraging a Managed Network Operations Centre (NOC) and Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) to monitor your systems and network activity for any anomalies to help you identify and diagnose issues quickly.
• Diversify Your Tech Stack: Relying on a single vendor for critical services can leave you vulnerable. Consider using solutions from different providers to minimise the impact of potential outages.
• Partner for Proactive Security: While the recent outage has inevitably knocked confidence in cybersecurity providers, it is fortunately a rare occurrence and highlights the ongoing importance of a layered security approach. Partnering with a trusted provider minimises your risk exposure and ensures your security defences are up-to-date.

TIEVA's Cyber Resilience Warranty

At TIEVA, we understand the critical importance of data protection and business continuity in today's digital landscape. That's why we offer our industry-first Cyber Resilience Warranty as part of our Backup- and Disaster Recovery- as a Service (-aaS) solutions.

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This groundbreaking financial guarantee provides compensation* in the rare event of data loss due to a service-related issue. This minimises the potential financial impact of a data breach and underscores our commitment to customer protection. By combining best practices with innovative solutions like our Cyber Resilience Warranty, we aim to empower businesses to build robust defences and navigate unexpected disruptions with confidence.

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If you would like to learn more, contact TIEVA today to discover how we can help you achieve cyber resilience.

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