Oxford Global Resources’ Post

Cybersecurity

Today's CrowdStrike outage has an important business lesson for all of us. And it's not the one you would expect. What I've seen today is the same thing you see when any news worthy event takes place. Everyone rushes to be the first to report on it to get the clicks and then they get the important details wrong. It was first blamed on Microsoft even though it wasn't them. Then they finally got around to calling out CrowdStrike. Then the doom-spiral over how too many important systems are dependent on a single software. Here's the rub. It doesn't matter that it was CrowdStrike. This could have happened to literally any company at any time. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta. These are all companies that produce software that is used for important business functions worldwide. Put away your torches and pitchforks and give the folks at CrowdStrike a break. This could have happened to any of us. For those of us who have lived through a crisis management situation, we can sympathize with the engineers at CrowdStrike who worked to fix this. Nobody means to deploy bugged code. But it happens. Take a breath today and put yourself in their shoes. It's better to be compassionate than publicly shame a mistake. Don't worry. They will learn from this and a week from now you will all forget about it anyway.

The recent Microsoft and CrowdStrike outage made me think about how important it is for companies to have good communication plans. When services go down, keeping everyone informed is a big challenge. Forbes reported that this outage caused delays and showed weak spots. It showed how important it is to have a good way to talk to teams, customers, and others during such times. To avoid these problems, companies can: 1. Use different ways to send messages (SMS, email, push notifications) to make sure everyone gets the message quickly. 2. Make a clear emergency communication plan with clear steps and roles. 3. Use real-time updates to keep track of communications. 4. Support different languages so everyone understands the messages. 5. Stay ahead of risks with tools that spot problems early. Having these steps in place can help keep things running smoothly and keep everyone informed during unexpected problems. ps. find the news link in the comments

Attention Microsoft and CrowdStrike Users!   Did the Recent Microsoft Outage Disrupt Your Business? If you or your business suffered losses due to the recent Microsoft outage, you might be entitled to compensation. This unforeseen disruption may have caused: Loss of Revenue Interrupted Services Productivity Delays Customer Dissatisfaction Data Loss or Security Breaches We’re Here to Help Our expert legal team specializes in handling claims against large corporations like Microsoft. We understand the profound impact this outage can have on your operations and are dedicated to helping you recover what you’ve lost. Why Choose Us? Experienced Professionals: Our team has a proven track record in handling complex corporate claims. Personalized Service: We offer a tailored approach to meet the unique needs of your business. Quick Resolution: We strive for swift settlements to get you back on track. Take Action Now Don't let the recent outage impact your business any further. Contact us today at info@johnsonslaw.co.uk for a free consultation to explore your options. Gareth Liddy Kenny chambers Darragh Carney

Let me write about you in Business Insider Are you an IT professional who could talk about how the CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage will impact everything? Or are you former Microsoft employee who could weigh in on how something like this can happen? Private message me. I can get you featured immediately, and include your commentary in a Business Insider article I’m writing about the outages.

Let's be clear about this Microsoft/crowdstrike outage. Most companies will blame crowdstrike. "due to a 3rd party outage ...", or " we were affected by this global outage". A very real symptom is client systems not restarting correctly because they assumed 100% uptime. I.e if Microsoft/crowdstrike took x unitOfTime to correct the issue, everyone else will take x + someActualReasonableFollowOnTime + wellOkOurDevsAreJustAsShhhhAsEveryoneElseSeconds.  Let's not rush to blame

Backup tape proves pivotal in responding to and recovering from the global CrowdStrike outage. Using tape for point-in-time recovery, creates restores at specific points in time, allowing for the restoration of systems to a known good state before the CrowdStrike outage occurred. By having regular backups on tape, organizations can ensure that critical data and systems can be brought back online quickly, minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity to points prior to the CrowdStrike outages. #crowdstrike #microsoft #backuptapes

The CrowdStrike and Microsoft outage has offered several important lessons for organizations, including the dangers of overly relying on a single vendor and vendor #concentrationrisk. Read more about the #Crowdstrike outage and vendor consolidation risks from SDxCentral: https://hubs.ly/Q02HYV2g0 #vendorrisk #vendormanagement #riskmanagement

We've talked with many IT departments that are still dealing with the aftermath of the CrowdStrike and Microsoft outage. Once you're operational, it's important to take a step back and examine if your organization has the necessary visibility, validation, and early warning tools to address #Microsoft365 outages in the future. ☔Do you want to be better prepared to manage the next outage? 📄Read our whitepaper - Addressing the Monitoring Gaps in Microsoft 365: https://hubs.li/Q02HKPcX0

🔍 Update on CrowdStrike Outage Impact 🔍 Microsoft’s earlier estimate of 8.5 million affected PCs from the CrowdStrike Falcon outage was too low. The true number is higher, as this estimate only covered devices that shared crash reports. Microsoft aims to reduce reliance on these drivers to avoid future issues. Thanks for sharing Dark Reading 🛡 Follow us Start With WCPGW #TechNews #CyberSecurity #Microsoft