Understanding the Recent CrowdStrike Outage 2024: Impact & Mitigation
Overview
On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike experienced a significant outage due to an incorrect sensor configuration update. This disruption affected numerous businesses across Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, and North West England, emphasizing the critical need for robust IT management and comprehensive business continuity plans.
Business Impact and Costs
System Disruptions
The outage caused system crashes, severely impacting operations for businesses relying on CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor version 7.11 and above. Companies in Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, and North West England faced substantial downtime, disrupting daily activities and reducing productivity.
Financial Losses
Unexpected downtime led to financial setbacks as operations halted and remediation efforts incurred additional costs. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including accountants, estate agents, law firms, schools, and construction companies, were particularly vulnerable, facing both immediate and long-term financial challenges.
Remediation Efforts
In response to the outage, CrowdStrike promptly rolled back the faulty update and issued guidelines for affected users. However, businesses without effective incident response plans experienced extended downtime and increased recovery expenses. This situation highlights the importance of having a proactive IT strategy to quickly address such disruptions.
Mitigation Strategies
Test Updates
Adopt a protocol for testing updates in a controlled environment before full deployment. This practice helps identify potential issues early, reducing the risk of widespread outages.
Backup Systems
Ensure comprehensive backup solutions are in place to enable swift recovery. Regular backups can significantly minimise downtime and prevent data loss during IT disruptions.
Regular Audits
Conduct regular IT audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities. Routine assessments help maintain a secure and resilient IT infrastructure, protecting your business from future incidents.
The Importance of BCDR Plans
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) plans are essential for maintaining operational resilience. These plans outline procedures for responding to and recovering from disruptions, ensuring minimal impact on business operations. A well-structured BCDR plan can make the difference between a swift recovery and prolonged downtime.
How Hilt Digital Can Assist
At Hilt Digital, we specialise in providing end-to-end managed services to protect your business from IT disruptions:
Proactive Monitoring
Continuous monitoring of your IT environment ensures that issues are detected and addressed promptly, preventing minor problems from escalating into major outages. Our proactive monitoring services are tailored for businesses in Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, and North West England.
Backup Solutions
Our robust backup systems guarantee that your data is secure and recoverable, reducing the risk of data loss and minimising downtime during recovery. Whether you’re an accountant in Liverpool or a construction firm in Chester, our backup solutions have you covered.
Incident Response
We offer expertise in developing and implementing effective incident response plans, ensuring your business is prepared to handle unexpected IT challenges efficiently. Partner with Hilt Digital to ensure your business can swiftly respond to any IT disruptions.
Advice for Small Businesses
Test Updates
Always test updates in a sandbox environment before rolling them out widely. This practice helps identify and resolve potential issues without impacting your entire IT infrastructure.
Partner with Experts
Trust a managed services provider like Hilt Digital to handle your IT management. Our expert oversight ensures quick resolution of issues, allowing you to focus on running your business in Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, or North West England.
Conclusion
The CrowdStrike outage serves as a stark reminder of the need for proactive IT management and comprehensive BCDR plans. Protect your business from similar disruptions by partnering with Hilt Digital. Contact us today to learn how our managed infrastructure, proactive monitoring and maintenance, SentinelOne endpoint protection, penetration testing, dark web monitoring, and Azure cloud consultancy and management services can safeguard your business.
Protect Your Business with Hilt Digital
At Hilt Digital, we understand the unique challenges faced by businesses in Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, North West England, and beyond. Whether you’re an accountant, estate agent, law firm, school, or construction company, our tailored cybersecurity and IT services ensure your operations remain secure and resilient.
Explore our managed infrastructure services, proactive monitoring and maintenance, SentinelOne endpoint protection, penetration testing, dark web monitoring, and Azure cloud consultancy and management to keep your business running smoothly.
Don’t wait for the next outage to take action. Get in touch with us today and ensure your business is prepared for any IT challenges that come your way.