IT Threat Management: What the Crowdstrike Outage of 2024 Taught Us
The Crowdstrike outage of 2024 highlighted the importance for businesses worldwide to prioritize IT threat management, cybersecurity defense, and internal process improvement. Within hours, a single internal error disrupted critical operations, demonstrating that even large tech companies are not immune to failures.
As cyber threats continue to increase in size and complexity, many businesses still lack the proper infrastructure and cybersecurity strategies to protect themselves. Last year’s outage highlights the urgent need for proactive IT threat management, both to prevent external attacks and to avoid internal errors.
Continue reading to discover what the Crowdstrike outage taught us and how businesses may be vulnerable to similar incidents.
Managed IT Services
Prioritize your IT and threat management to ensure optimal security and continuous productivity. Collaborate with a trusted managed IT service partner and strengthen your cybersecurity posture to prevent outages, breaches, or threats in the future.
Companies lack cyber threat prevention plans
We have observed an exponential increase in both the number and severity of cyber risks that threaten companies daily. The damage caused by evolving threats, internal risks, and other factors costs businesses like Crowdstrike billions of dollars in repair and payouts. Although cybersecurity solutions are improving and companies are investing more in their cyber safety, many still fall behind in threat prevention. Without a solid cybersecurity strategy, organizations risk experiencing data breaches, cyberattacks, and reputational harm.
Investigating the Crowdstrike outage has taught us that balancing cybersecurity efforts for both internal and external threats is essential to avoid dangers and safeguard the business. Below are a few common gaps in the cybersecurity market that may leave businesses vulnerable to threats they don’t anticipate.
A fragmented cybersecurity market
Although a business may use specific cybersecurity solutions or platforms, it’s vital to ensure that all tools function together effectively. Without a unified system, it’s challenging to get a full picture of cyber risks or areas for improvement. Consistency across solutions or with a managed service provider provides a streamlined approach to cybersecurity.
No process for emerging network security trends
New technologies like AI or advanced quantum computing require updated regulations, knowledge, and best practices to keep pace. These tools introduce additional cyber risks that teams may not be aware of. Having a process in place to stay current on the latest trends and providing your team with proper training will help IT teams remain prepared for new threats.
Deprived of organized data
Many companies struggle to find a consistent way to organize their data, which means they are working with disjointed data points. This not only makes it difficult to keep track of the sensitive information within their system but also prevents teams from getting a full picture of what is happening within their infrastructure. Organizing the data you have access to will help IT and security teams understand where connections exist between data, such as local assessments, questionnaire data, or cyber scores.
Weak security assessment process
Businesses may lack the proper tools or insight to recognize how a minor risk they encounter could lead to a complete outage or future attack. This results from fragmentation in the tools used and processes that don’t provide a comprehensive overview of each situation and its connections. With a detailed security assessment for any risk, big or small, that passes through your infrastructure, teams can gain the insight needed to identify when a larger issue might develop.
No security transparency
Finally, IT teams working in silos lack visibility into whether their partners, suppliers, or internal teams are practicing online safety. Without this awareness, IT teams cannot intervene when they notice anomalies in user behavior. Having visibility into the tools, solutions, processes, and activities across devices is essential for creating a secure online environment for everyone in the business.
Cybersecurity isn’t just about having tools in place; it’s about ensuring the tools you use work together, stay updated, and provide visibility across your business. By addressing these common gaps, organizations can adopt a proactive approach and build a strong, resilient defense against evolving threats.
Is there a need for more big tech regulation?
The infamous Crowdstrike outage of 2024 was not caused by hackers successfully breaching their systems, but rather resulted from an internal software update that went wrong. The impact of this error was far-reaching, disrupting the operations of airlines, hospitals, and banks around the world. This outage showed that widespread use of a single solution can expose businesses to vulnerabilities they are not prepared for.
The question of regulations arose to decide whether stricter rules or government involvement could have helped businesses avoid this type of outage. While some argued in favor of government regulation of big tech companies and cybersecurity vendors, others believed this would not necessarily prevent such incidents. In fact, tight restrictions could complicate incident response for IT and cybersecurity professionals. If they must jump through numerous hoops before resolving the issue to comply with regulations, security incidents could last much longer than necessary.
Unfortunately, government agencies often struggle to handle their own cyber defenses; adding layers of oversight to the private sector could significantly slow down the response to incidents and create more confusion during time-sensitive events.
Businesses and their internal or outsourced IT and cybersecurity partners remain crucial for cyber defense and threat management. The Crowdstrike team quickly identified and mitigated the issue without government intervention. Their ability to address the problem rapidly could have been delayed if they had to navigate a complex set of government regulations.
The Crowdstrike incident highlights the importance of preparing for both internal and external threats and errors. If a business experiences an outage or attack, it must take full responsibility for its cybersecurity posture, ensuring continuous improvement in design, engineering, and risk management. Building resilience in infrastructure, adopting proactive practices, and developing tested incident response plans will help companies prevent similar situations from occurring.
Most importantly, businesses that work with external IT and cybersecurity teams need to gain a clear understanding of their operations, cybersecurity measures, and level of expertise so they can act quickly when issues arise. Unfortunately, incidents like the Crowdstrike outage are not isolated events, and businesses should always be prepared for the worst by having a team of cybersecurity experts who can prioritize compliance, continuity, and control.
In an environment where outages and attacks can occur within seconds and cost companies billions of dollars, stricter regulations alone won’t solve the problem. A proactive and robust IT and cybersecurity strategy, supported by a team of experts, is the best way to prevent this type of incident from happening in your business.
Managed IT Services
Prioritize your IT and threat management to ensure optimal security and continuous productivity. Collaborate with a trusted managed IT service partner and strengthen your cybersecurity posture to prevent outages, breaches, or threats in the future.
Build corporate resilience with strong business continuity solutions
The Crowdstrike outage shows that business continuity relies on more than just cybersecurity tools. It requires a strong, integrated strategy that manages internal risks, external threats, and quick response capabilities. To build dependable corporate resilience, businesses must address common cybersecurity gaps, unify their IT systems, and stay proactive to prepare for emerging threats.
As a trusted managed service provider, our team at Applied Tech offers comprehensive IT solutions, extensive cybersecurity expertise, productivity tools, and more. Customized to your specific needs, our services help organizations enhance their security posture to ensure operations stay secure and uninterrupted. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business prevent major outages and build cybersecurity resilience.
About Applied Tech
Applied Tech is a leading IT and cybersecurity services provider dedicated to helping businesses protect their digital assets. Our proactive and strategic services include cloud management, security, productivity, and IT growth strategy. With a team of experienced professionals, we provide unique solutions tailored to your IT needs.
Protect your business with Applied Tech’s fully managed IT services, co-managed support, and security assistance. With IT services focused on your business goals, keep your team productive and your data secure.
