CrowdStrike Outage: A Wake-Up Call for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Widespread outages caused by a faulty update to CrowdStrike’s endpoint protection platform has caused enterprise decision-makers to think harder about their business continuity and disaster recovery planning. A loud message was sent across many industries that proven contingencies are needed to protect organizations, recover important data and restore business essential capabilities. This planning can include investing in more controllable, internal data center solutions, more convenient, third-party cloud-based offerings, or a more comprehensive hybrid approach that covers all bases. Regardless of the options organizations choose to explore, it’s clear that relying solely on vendor business continuity planning to protect critical operations and accessibility may not be enough.

Enterprise Vulnerabilities

The CrowdStrike outage served as a clear wake-up call disrupting access to 8.5 million Windows devices, one of the largest computer crashes in history. This impacted operations across industries such as aviation, emergency response, financial services, broadcasting, manufacturing and much more. A simple coding error brought enterprises and government operations across the globe to a standstill, exposing the fragility of our interconnected digital landscape, and more awareness of vulnerabilities which threaten to disrupt business.

The first thought that may come to mind when thinking of business continuity and disaster recovery is in its name – disaster scenarios. This includes events such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, earthquakes, mudslides, etc. In natural disaster scenarios, business continuity ensures that organizations are still able to perform business operations and effective recovery plans are in place.

However, the CrowdStrike outage underlined the importance of considering all forms of enterprise vulnerabilities which can disrupt operations, such as cyber breaches, network failures, compromised infrastructure, and third-party system outages. In today’s business environment, the list of disruptions organizations must be prepared for is expansive and evolving.  No matter the event, orgs can find exceptional value when they prioritize business continuity planning and disaster recovery practices.

Importance of Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

Although business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) are pegged together because of their close relation as risk management protocols, key differences exist between them. What are these differences and why is BCDR important for organizations to leverage?

Business continuity is more of a general approach to keep mission-critical business functions operational during and after a disruption or disaster, even if physical relocation to alternate facilities or remote access is needed. This proactive plan establishes processes and people responsible for addressing a broad range of threats which can interrupt operations.

Disaster Recovery is a more detailed, focused approach responding to specific disaster scenarios, particularly impacting IT systems, networks and enterprise data. This response plan addresses interruptions due to massive outages, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, etc. DR is a subset of BC, primarily focused on recovering lost data, systems, and applications as quickly as possible, minimizing long-term damage to technology infrastructure.

Typically, the scope of BC plans cover all aspects of the business, including communications, human resources, supply chains, and IT services. This focuses on maintaining continuous operations from a wholistic standpoint.

On the other hand, DR is more technical and IT-focused, detailing specific steps for restoring hardware, software, and data. It’s mainly reactive, activated after a disaster occurs.

Together, BCDR provides organizations with significant advantages in the competitive marketplace. A shortlist of BCDR benefits includes:

• Minimized downtime: Critical business operations continue, even during a crisis, mitigating significant disruption and preventing extend outages.
• Reducing financial losses: Halted operations can lead to financial challenges, as demonstrated with the $5.4 billion loss caused by the CrowdStrike outage.
• Enhanced risk management: Identifying potential threats and establishing BCDR plans makes business more prepared for unexpected disruptions and reduces the risk of permanent data loss.
• Increased resiliency: Enables businesses to function under adverse conditions by implementing flexible work arrangements, alternative supply chains, and temporary measures.
• Customer trust: Establishing a strong BCDR program helps organizations maintain customer trust and brand reputation, offering dependability even in crisis moments.

By having well-established BCDR plans, organizations can ensure continuity, protect their reputation, and recover swiftly from disruptions. These plans are essential for long-term stability in an increasingly volatile business landscape.

Proven BCDR Solutions

Now let’s turn to different BCDR solutions organizations can leverage to support continuous operations and enterprise resiliency. For IT operations, this typically includes solutions such as On-Prem data centers, Cloud-based data centers, and Back-up-as-a-Service. Each of these solutions offer unique benefits depending on an organization’s needs, infrastructure, and budget.

ON-PREMISE DATA CENTERS (ON-PREM)

On-premise solutions involve maintaining and managing physical servers and infrastructure within an organization’s own facilities. These data centers handle everything from backups to disaster recovery planning and require a dedicated IT team to manage.

Advantages:

• Full Control: Businesses have direct control over their servers, systems, and data, allowing for customization to meet specific security and compliance needs.
• Data Privacy: Since all data is stored locally, it remains entirely within the organization’s physical control, which can mitigate concerns about third-party data breaches or unauthorized access.
• Performance: Localized data centers often offer faster access to data and systems since they’re on the same network infrastructure.

Disadvantages:

• Upfront Costs: On-prem solutions typically require more upfront capital for hardware, facilities, and ongoing maintenance. Additional costs include cooling, power, and staffing for management.
• Scalability Challenges: Scaling on-prem infrastructure to handle increased capacity can be time-consuming and expensive, requiring more space, hardware and proper installation.
• Vulnerability to Localized Disasters: On-prem data centers are susceptible to regional disasters (fires, floods, etc.), which could render them non-functional if the organization does not have off-site backups.

CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS

Cloud-based BCDR solutions utilize third-party cloud providers (like AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud) to host infrastructure, data, and applications. These solutions often include built-in redundancy, scalability, and flexibility.

Advantages:

• Scalability: Cloud solutions offer on-demand scalability, allowing organizations to increase or decrease resources as needed without investing in physical hardware.
• Cost Efficiency: Cloud services often follow a pay-as-you-go model, reducing the upfront costs of infrastructure and offering more flexibility in managing expenses.
• Geographic Redundancy: Cloud providers typically store data across multiple locations, protecting against localized disasters. This ensures that data remains available even if one data center experiences a failure.
• Automation and Speed: Cloud platforms can automate many processes, such as backups and system failovers, significantly speeding up recovery times in the event of an outage.

Disadvantages:

• Dependence on Internet Access: Since cloud services are accessed remotely, they rely on internet connectivity. Any downtime in internet service can impede access to critical systems and data.
• Less Control: Organizations may have less control over the infrastructure, which could create compliance concerns, especially in industries with strict data regulations.
• Data Security Concerns: Storing sensitive data with third-party vendors raises concerns about data security, compliance, and the potential for breaches.

BACKUP-AS-A-SERVICE (BaaS)

BaaS is a specialized cloud service that automatically manages the backup of an organization’s data. It ensures that data is continuously backed up and can be quickly restored in case of system failure, data corruption, or cyberattacks.

Advantages:

• Automated Backups: BaaS platforms automate data backups, ensuring that organizations always have the latest data stored without manual intervention.
• Cost-Effective: BaaS provides cost savings over traditional on-premise backups, as businesses do not need to maintain physical servers or storage devices.
• Remote Accessibility: Data backed up via BaaS is stored off-site, often in multiple locations, making it available for recovery from anywhere in case of a disaster.
• Reduced Management Overhead: With BaaS, the service provider manages the infrastructure and processes, reducing the burden on in-house IT staff.

Disadvantages:

• Data Recovery Speed: Depending on the size of the data and internet bandwidth, restoring large amounts of data from the cloud can take time.
• Vendor Dependence: Organizations rely heavily on the service provider for both data storage and recovery. This creates risks if the provider experiences outages or disruptions.
• Compliance and Security Concerns: As with other cloud solutions, using BaaS raises potential concerns about data security and regulatory compliance, especially for sensitive or regulated data.

Choosing the right BCDR solution depends on the specific needs, budget, and compliance requirements of an organization. Solutions come with their own set of benefits and drawbacks, but empowers organizations to customize and tailor to their exact needs. Many organizations even opt for hybrid solutions, blending on-prem and cloud approaches to balance control, cost, and resiliency. Regardless of the approach, having a reliable BCDR solution is proving mandatory in our evolving business and digital landscape.

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As disruptions to critical services and operations continue to pose significant threats, the importance of proven business continuity and disaster recovery solutions cannot be understated. With proactive preparation and key stakeholder commitment, organizations can establish enterprise-wide resiliency and sustainable growth.

Partner with experts at Seneca Resources to strengthen your business continuity capabilities and mitigate organizational disruptions. If interested in learning more, please contact us at info@senecahq.com.