How To Survive the Next Massive IT Outage

The recent outage is a wake-up call for all of us in the cybersecurity realm. It’s a reminder that we need to stay on our toes, always ready to anticipate, mitigate, and manage any disruptions that come our way. Let’s dive into what went down with the recent high-profile IT outage across the world, draw some valuable lessons, and arm ourselves with actionable strategies to keep our digital fortresses secure.

CrowdStrike’s hiccup stemmed from a bug in its Memory Scanning prevention policy. This pesky bug led to massive performance issues, with the Falcon sensor for Windows hogging 100% of a CPU core. Yikes! What’s even scarier? This wasn’t caught during their standard testing. This incident screams the need for thorough vulnerability and penetration testing and a rock-solid incident response plan.

Immediate Action Plan

When the digital world goes haywire, here’s what you need to do:

• Activate Your Incident Response Plan: As soon as you spot a widespread issue, get your incident response team in action. Make sure every team member knows their role. This plan should cover communication, mitigation, and resolution steps.
• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Keep your stakeholders in the loop. Let them know what’s happening, what you’re doing to fix it, and any steps they need to take. Clear, consistent updates help manage expectations and maintain trust.
• Reboots and Patches: For CrowdStrike, the fix involved system reboots. If you can’t afford downtime, schedule reboots during off-peak hours. Communicate these plans clearly to minimize the impact on operations.

Read also: From Cryptojacking to Malware – Your 2024 Cybersecurity Playbook

Long-Term Strategies for Cyber Resilience

To bolster your defenses against future hiccups, consider these strategies:

• Enhanced Testing Procedures: Basic testing won’t catch complex bugs. Adopt a multi-layered approach, including sandbox testing and controlled environment deployments that mimic live systems. Release updates to small groups of users first, monitor results, and be ready to roll back if needed. Encourage feedback from early adopters to spot issues quickly.
• Regular Training and Drills: Regularly train your team and conduct simulated drills to ensure they’re ready for real incidents. This includes recognizing phishing attempts and social engineering attacks, which often spike after major disruptions.

Read also: What is Voice Phishing (Vishing)?

• Review and Update Security Policies: Post-incident, review all security policies and procedures. Identify gaps or weaknesses exposed by the incident and update your protocols accordingly.
• Continuous Monitoring and Analytics: Implement an AI-driven advanced SIEM solution for continuous monitoring and to detect anomalies in real-time. This proactive approach helps in identifying potential threats before they can cause significant damage.
• Robust Backup and Recovery Plans: Ensure you have a comprehensive backup strategy that includes regular backups and a tested recovery plan. This ensures that in the event of a breach or data loss, you can quickly restore operations with minimal impact.
• Incident Response Automation: Utilize automation tools for your incident response processes. Automating repetitive tasks can speed up response times, reduce human error, and allow your team to focus on more complex issues.
• Implement Zero Trust Architecture: Adopt a Zero Trust security model where trust is never assumed, and verification is required for every access request. This minimizes the risk of internal and external threats.

Read also: Why do you need Zero Trust for your organization?

• Advanced Threat Intelligence: Integrate advanced threat intelligence into your security operations to stay ahead of emerging threats. By leveraging global threat data, you can proactively defend against attacks that target your industry or specific technologies you use.
• Third-Party Risk Management: Evaluate and monitor the security practices of third-party vendors and partners. Ensure they meet your security standards to prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced through external connections.
• Regular Security Audits and Penetration Testing: Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests to identify vulnerabilities in your systems. These proactive assessments help in discovering and fixing weaknesses before they can be exploited by attackers.
• Data Encryption: Ensure all sensitive data, both at rest and in transit, is encrypted. Strong data protection and encryption practices make it significantly harder for attackers to access and exploit your data.
• User Behavior Analytics (UBA): Implement UBA to monitor and analyze the behavior of users within your network. This helps in identifying unusual or risky behavior that could indicate a security breach.

Watch Out for Follow-On Threats

After a major incident like the CrowdStrike outage, expect a surge in follow-on threats. Cybercriminals love to exploit the chaos. Here’s what to watch for:

• Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks: Attackers may pose as support personnel from the affected company, trying to trick users into giving up sensitive information or installing malware.
• Fake Update Notifications: Be wary of prompts to download “urgent” updates. Ensure users only download updates from official sources.
• Increased Scanning Activity: Attackers will likely increase scanning to find vulnerable or improperly patched systems.

Such events can lead to significant reputational damage and trust issues.

The Road Ahead

The CrowdStrike outage highlights the complexities of cybersecurity. By embracing comprehensive testing practices, maintaining clear communication, and enhancing defenses against social engineering, we can better prepare for and respond to such incidents. Continuous improvement and vigilance are our best allies in minimizing the impact of disruptions in our increasingly interconnected digital world.

For organizations looking to bolster their cybersecurity defenses, Futurism Technologies offers top-notch Security Operation Center (SOC) services. Our state-of-the-art G-SOC is equipped with industry-standard security layers and protocols, certified by SOC 2 Type II standards, and staffed with best-of-breed SOC engineers and analysts. We provide 24/7 monitoring, advanced threat detection, incident response, and much more. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies from industry leaders like IBM and Microsoft, our SOC ensures your enterprise stays ahead of cyber threats.

Stay sharp, stay prepared, and keep those digital shields up! For any assistance, contact our security expert now.