Global IT Outage: 'Prioritising Cybersecurity A Must'

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA

Doha: Experts in the fields of economics and information technology estimated that the economic impact of the recent internet disruption on the global Economy could be worth millions, if not billions, of US dollars.

They noted that it is currently difficult to accurately quantify the extent of the damage.

In statements to QNA, the experts described the technical failure that affected the Internet as a shock that will increase the cybersecurity challenges faced by countries, companies, and individuals.

They emphasised the importance of prioritising the protection of information systems and cybersecurity, as well as business continuity strategies, to ensure economic sustainability and the protection of public and personal data.

Dr. Abdullah Al Khater highlighted that the companies most affected by the global economic paralysis caused by the internet outage are Microsoft and CrowdStrike.

He added that the impact is significant in terms of their reputations as well as the costs they will incur from the affected parties using their services and applications.

Dr. Al Khater raised several questions about the readiness of Microsoft's systems before carrying out updates, especially considering their use of artificial intelligence technologies.

He said that the update caused long hours of disruption to airports, travel, tourism, hospitals, and other institutions.

He also pointed out the cybersecurity concerns that will be raised by markets and consumers in the near future due to growing anxiety and fears stemming from the disruption to Microsoft's systems.

Dr. Al Khater noted that governments and decision-makers will face additional challenges, as they must answer questions regarding the level of cybersecurity needed beyond what Microsoft and CrowdStrike have provided, which revealed vulnerabilities that will likely lead to increased hacker activity.

The global Internet disruption today caused operational disruptions for airlines, telecommunications, media outlets, banks, and major trading markets. Reports indicated that air travel was disrupted at several airports worldwide, including those in the United States, Spain, Turkiye, Australia, and Germany, due to communication issues. Global markets in London and Singapore, particularly those involved in oil and gas trading, reported difficulties executing transactions due to the Internet outage.

Several media outlets around the world were also affected by the outage.

Additionally, Berlin Airport and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam reported technical failures today, resulting in flight suspensions that will impact passenger traffic and tourism activities, which typically see a surge during the summer holidays.

Mohamed Alam, an expert in information and communication technology and General Manager of Qatar Datamation Systems, provided insights to Qatar News Agency (QNA) regarding the internet outage that caused paralysis across various sectors such as airports, hospitals, banks, shopping centers, and media outlets. He explained that the disruption primarily affected users of Microsoft 365 applications and services, leading their devices to display a blank blue screen, commonly referred to as the“blue screen of death,” followed by a message indicating the user was locked out of their operating system.

Alam, along with other industry professionals, attributed the malfunction to American cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The company's mandatory update led to the failure of devices running Microsoft Windows.

He noted that the economic repercussions of this outage are vast and likely amount to billions of dollars, though it's too early to quantify the full extent of the damage, given the wide-ranging impact on the global economy.

Alam emphasised the importance of prioritising information system protection, cybersecurity, and business continuity strategies to shield the economy from intentional or accidental disruptions. Implementing technical, organisational, and administrative measures to ensure the swift recovery of electronic information, communication, and information systems is crucial to prevent paralysis and protect the operations of states, companies, and individuals from cyber threats.

Meanwhile, Businessman Mansour Al Naemi echoed the same sentiments, highlighting the negative impact of the outage on businesses.

He said that prolonged disruptions will increase production costs and burden both small and large companies, especially those reliant on Microsoft and CrowdStrike applications. Al Naemi stressed the importance of companies enhancing their capabilities to handle such unexpected shocks by supporting cybersecurity mechanisms to maintain production, storage, and marketing systems, thereby safeguarding the economic fabric of nations.

He pointed out that globalization and the interconnectedness of global economies necessitate collective efforts to establish systems capable of addressing challenges and mitigating the effects of technical failures or cyberattacks.

Microsoft 365, on its official page on X, mentioned that the company is working on rerouting affected traffic to alternative systems to alleviate the impact and restore service availability, noting an improvement in service availability despite the significant disruptions reported by airlines and airports.

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