• Reality Bytes
  • Posts
  • The CrowdStrike debacle, what to do about it, and ChatGPT-4o mini

The CrowdStrike debacle, what to do about it, and ChatGPT-4o mini

Author

Abby Bradeen
July 23, 2024

Cyber Security

The Dark Days

The Massive Outage That Shut Down the World: What do Kim K and CrowdStrike have in common? They both broke the internet (badum tsss). Everyone everywhere was talking about the global outage last week, as it grounded planes, disrupted surgeries, and shut down banks around the world. Turns out, even the best-laid cybersecurity plans can go spectacularly awry. Here’s the lowdown on what happened, why it matters, and what you can do to keep your business (and sanity) intact.

On a seemingly ordinary day in July, CrowdStrike’s systems decided to take an unscheduled vacation, with the outage primarily affecting Windows users. Businesses relying on CrowdStrike's Falcon platform found themselves without crucial endpoint protection, leading to significant operational disruptions and increased vulnerability to cyber threats. Reuters chimed in with a grim reminder: without solid backup plans, global IT outages are not a question of if, but when. The chaos surrounding the CrowdStrike outage serves as a cautionary tale for business leaders. It’s a stark reminder that even the giants of cybersecurity can stumble, and when they do, it’s the smaller entities that often bear the brunt of the impact.

The ripple effects were profound. CrowdStrike's stock took a 13% hit as investors reacted to the widespread impact. Additionally, IT administrators had to scramble for solutions, with Microsoft recently releasing a recovery tool to help mitigate the issue.

If there’s a silver lining to this fiasco, it’s that we’re all in this together. The CrowdStrike outage has united IT professionals and business leaders in a shared moment of “what the heck just happened?” It’s a collective reminder to stay vigilant, adaptable, and always have a Plan B (and maybe even a Plan C).

Cyber Security

Protecting Your Biz from Future Blackouts

So What Now?: Forbes suggests a few steps to mitigate the fallout: review your security protocols, ensure your backup systems are robust, and consider diversifying your cybersecurity solutions to avoid a single point of failure. In other words, don’t put all your digital eggs in one basket.

LightEdge echoes this sentiment, offering some practical advice to business owners in the wake of the outage:

  • Ensure you have a detailed incident response plan with regular drills and updates.

  • Diversify your cybersecurity solutions to avoid reliance on a single provider.

  • Conduct thorough vendor assessments to ensure adherence to high security standards.

  • Invest in redundancy and backup systems to provide immediate failover capability.

  • Regularly update and patch systems to protect against the latest vulnerabilities.

By implementing these measures, business owners can significantly reduce the risk of future disruptions. These steps not only protect against unexpected outages but also ensure the continuity and resilience of your operations, safeguarding your business's future in an increasingly digital world.

AI

GPTs Mini Me

Open AI’s Latest Launch: OpenAI has launched ChatGPT 4o Mini, a new AI model designed to be both cost-effective and highly intelligent. This model offers advanced language understanding and generation capabilities at a lower price point, making it more accessible for businesses of all sizes. ChatGPT 4o Mini is perfect for customer service, content creation, and automating routine tasks, providing businesses with a powerful tool to enhance efficiency and engagement without significant investment. By integrating this AI into their operations, business owners can streamline processes, improve customer interactions, and stay ahead in a competitive market. If there’s no more security threats, internet outages, or ethics breaches, that is.

Quick Bytes

Tuesday Tidbits

Join us on Linkedin to connect with other industry leaders on all things tech!