Supply Chain Risks on Spotlight

The CrowdStrike incident underscores the need for robust supply chain risk management strategies. Organizations must assess and mitigate risks associated with their technology providers and other critical suppliers

While some airlines in India demonstrated resilience by implementing manual processes like handwritten boarding passes, many others were unable to operate, revealing a stark contrast in contingency planning. This incident emphasizes several key lessons for organizations:

 Comprehensive asset management

 Organizations must maintain a detailed inventory of all assets within their systems. This includes knowing which devices are Windows-based, which are hosted on Azure, and how they are affected by such outages. A lack of comprehensive asset management can significantly prolong the recovery process.

Mandatory update testing

The importance of thoroughly testing updates before deployment cannot be overstated. Both software providers and clients should conduct extensive testing to prevent widespread disruptions.

Effective contingency planning

Having a "Plan B" is crucial. Organizations need to develop and regularly update backup plans to maintain operations during system failures.

Third-party risk assessment

Companies should regularly evaluate the security posture of their vendors and service providers to minimize potential issues in their supply chain.

By addressing these areas, organizations can better prepare for and mitigate the impacts of similar incidents in the future. The outage serves as a wake-up call for businesses to prioritize supply chain resilience, comprehensive asset management, and robust contingency planning in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape