Global IT outage risk is rising

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The dramatic consequences of our reliance on technology were demonstrated when computer systems worldwide went down last week. Several sectors and thousands of people were affected across airports, railway stations and hospitals, with people unable to travel, receive treatment or make ordinary financial transactions.

Scenes of long queues at airports, and of patients waiting to receive medical treatment at hospitals, are no longer the preserve of fiction-writers: for some time now the risk of widespread disruption has been very real. It’s no surprise that, when one of the largest cloud hosting providers and one of the largest cyber-security providers go down, the consequences are global.

The most comparable incident involved a similar IT update problem in 2018, when the back-office systems used in the banking sector were affected. At the time, bank-to-bank transfers, retail payments and payroll functions were affected.

Remedial action is not difficult but it requires careful consideration. Before investing in cutting-edge technologies, organisations of all sizes need to have security fundamentals in place; regular audits, comprehensive staff training, and proper security vetting of third-party collaborators are all crucial in preventing such cyberattacks.

This is especially important for companies categorised as 'critical infrastructure': our work and our communities and our personal lives depend on them.

Our Chief Operating Officer Jano Bermudes provided his expert view to The Sun about this.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/29342555/global-it-outage-cybersecurity-hackers-internet/