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Mitigating Future Outages: Lessons from the CrowdStrike Incident

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In the wake of CrowdStrike’s recent outage, many businesses are re-evaluating their cybersecurity strategies. This incident primarily affected Windows machines, highlighting the importance of diversifying the types of devices used within an organisation.

Here are some key strategies to consider to prevent similar disruptions in the future:

  1. Diversify User Systems

CrowdStrike’s outage had a significant impact on Windows machines. To mitigate the risk of a system-specific attack, it’s advisable to use a variety of devices across your company. Incorporating Macs, Linux systems, and even tablets can help spread the risk and reduce the likelihood of a single point of failure.

  1. Implement Delayed Patching

While timely updates are crucial for security, implementing a delayed patching process can provide a buffer against potential issues with new updates. Allowing a 24 to 72-hour window between the release and installation of updates gives time for any untested issues to be identified and resolved by the provider, before installing them into your systems and putting them at risk.

  1. Leverage Cloud Technology

Cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and AWS offer built-in roll-back features. These can be invaluable in the event of an attack, outage, or infiltration, allowing companies to revert their systems to a previous state and minimise downtime.

  1. Test Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Many businesses have a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) in place, but how many have thoroughly tested it? Regularly testing your DRP ensures that, in the event of a disaster, your client machines, local machines, servers, and other devices can recover quickly and effectively – getting you back online in no time.

  1. Avoid Single Points of Failure

Spreading the risk is crucial not only for user systems but also for other critical infrastructure such as power, internet, and servers. Ensure you have backups and redundancies in place to maintain operations if any of these systems are affected by an outage. For example, do you have a back up power system? Or a solution if your office’s internet goes down?

By implementing these strategies, businesses can better prepare for and mitigate the impact of future outages. The CrowdStrike incident serves as a reminder of the importance of a robust, diversified, and well-tested cybersecurity strategy