Early Friday morning, as the Crowdstrike impact was unfolding, my husband and I were checking in at Shannon airport on our way to a family wedding. I had printed out my boarding pass the day before. My husband got his boarding pass written out by one of the employees who seemed quite calm and nonplussed. We were both unaware of the news and thought it may have been an isolated event with printers – which both of us being in IT knew were often troublesome.
Before we switched our phones off for the flight, my husband found the breaking story. I was concerned that none of the flight software was running on Windows but I was reassured knowing that pilots often have to fly manually as part of their training.
We were only delayed by about 30 minutes unlike many others around the world who weren’t so fortunate.
Technology is meant to empower us and indeed it does. However, our dependence on technology without adequate safety nets leaves us feeling powerless and vulnerable. Many companies have Business Continuity Plan KPI’s but don’t allocate the resources to test these plans to assess their resilience. Instead, they put these plans on the back burner until they get tested by crises such as pandemics or global outages.
The constant barrage of cyber-attacks and supply chain failures often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and highlights the fragility of our digital infrastructure.
Yet, the world keeps on turning and we do have solutions that are tested in the real world.
This incident makes me wonder if many of the companies affected will now allocate resources to document and test their Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans thoroughly, identifying other points of failure.
It is crucial for organisations to prioritise resilience and ensure their plans are robust enough to withstand real-world challenges. As we navigate an increasingly digital world, it is essential to remain vigilant and proactive. Companies must invest in testing their Business Continuity Plans to safeguard against unforeseen crises. By doing so, we can reduce our vulnerability and maintain the empowerment that technology promises.
