In today’s digital landscape, businesses heavily depend on IT systems for their daily functions. When these systems face outages, it can result in substantial disruptions, financial losses, and damage to their reputation. Recently, a significant incident involving CrowdStrike, a US cybersecurity company, underscored the critical importance of having robust IT support and a well-defined response plan.
This blog will discuss steps to take if you’re affected by an IT outage, with a particular focus on contacting your IT support company and following their advice.
What Happened Last Week with CrowdStrike?
On 19 July 2024, a major IT outage affected businesses globally, impacting sectors from major banks to airlines, healthcare providers to critical infrastructure. The incident stemmed from a faulty update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon security software, leading to widespread system instability and crashes on Windows machines.
The update, intended to enhance security by targeting newly observed malicious activities, inadvertently contained a logic error causing the crashes. This issue was not related to a cybersecurity attack but rather a technical flaw in the update. CrowdStrike’s teams worked diligently to diagnose and resolve the problem, issuing a fix and providing detailed remediation steps for affected systems. However, it is estimated that the outage has cost the global economy at least $1 billion, with some estimates reaching tens of billions.
This incident has prompted many to question how to prepare for IT outages and respond effectively if they are affected.
The Impact of IT Outages
IT outages can occur for various reasons, including hardware failures, software bugs, cyber-attacks, or natural disasters. The CrowdStrike incident serves as a stark reminder of existing vulnerabilities. Such outages can lead to:
- Downtime: Operational disruptions can halt business processes, causing delays and reduced productivity.
- Data Loss: Critical data may be lost or corrupted, affecting business continuity and data integrity.
- Security Risks: Outages can expose systems to security vulnerabilities, making them targets for cyber-attacks.
- Financial Losses: Direct financial impacts from lost sales, along with costs associated with recovery and mitigation efforts.
- Reputational Damage: Customers may lose trust in a company’s ability to provide reliable services.
Steps to Take When Affected by an IT Outage
So how should businesses react when an IT outage occurs? Where do you start in helping to get your operations back to normal?
Stay Calm and Assess the Situation – The first step during an IT outage is to remain calm and assess the scope and impact of the problem. Determine which systems and services are affected and identify any immediate risks to critical operations.
Contact Your IT Support Company Immediately – Your IT support company is your first line of defence during an IT outage. They have the expertise and resources to diagnose and resolve issues effectively. Here’s what you should do:
- Report the Issue: Provide detailed information about the outage, including symptoms, affected systems, and any error messages.
- Follow Their Guidance: IT support teams are trained to handle outages efficiently. Follow their instructions carefully to avoid exacerbating the problem.
- Stay Available: Be ready to provide additional information or access to systems as needed by your IT support team.
Don’t Restart Your Devices – During IT outages, it is critical to keep your system stable and avoid actions like rebooting or updating your PC. Reboots and updates can lead to further complications if the system or network is unstable. Let your IT support company know that you have refrained from taking these actions.
Implement Contingency Plans – If you have a business continuity or disaster recovery plan, put it into action. This may involve switching to backup systems, activating alternate communication channels, or relocating to a secondary site.
Communicate with Stakeholders – Transparent communication is crucial during an outage. Keep employees, customers, and other stakeholders informed about the situation and the steps being taken to resolve it. Provide regular updates to manage expectations and maintain trust.
Document the Incident – Keep a detailed record of the outage, including the time it started, systems affected, actions taken, and communications made. This documentation will be valuable for post-incident analysis and improving future response strategies.
Review and Improve – After the issue is resolved, conduct a thorough review to understand what went wrong and how similar issues can be prevented in the future. Work with your IT support company to identify any gaps in your current setup and implement necessary improvements.
These steps can help you manage the incident once an issue occurs. However, the best defence is to have a plan in place proactively.
The Importance of a Trusted IT Partner
Your IT Support Partner plays a critical role in not only helping you recover from an incident but also in preparing you for potential issues that could impact your organisation’s infrastructure.
Here are some key benefits of having a reliable IT support partner:
- 24/7 Monitoring and Support: Proactive monitoring can detect potential issues before they lead to outages, while round-the-clock support ensures quick response times.
- Expert Troubleshooting: Skilled technicians can diagnose and resolve complex IT problems efficiently.
- Backup and Recovery Solutions: IT support companies can implement robust backup and disaster recovery solutions to protect your data and ensure business continuity is planned and delivered.
- Security Enhancements: They can help strengthen your cybersecurity posture, reducing the risk of cyber-attacks during outages.
Learning from the CrowdStrike Incident
The CrowdStrike incident underscores the importance of preparedness and having a strong IT support framework in place. Businesses affected by the outage were able to recover more swiftly if they had strong, professional IT support teams.
IT outages are inevitable, although maybe not to the scale of the CrowdStrike incident, but their impact can be significantly mitigated with the right approach. By staying calm, contacting your IT support company promptly, and following their advice, you can navigate these challenging situations more effectively. Remember, the key to resilience lies in preparedness and having a plan to activate when something unexpected occurs.
Would you like to discuss this further? Get in touch with our team today.
