Strengthening Cyber Defenses: The Crucial Role of System Availability and Resilience

The recent global Microsoft IT outage, triggered by an automated software update from CrowdStrike, highlights the critical importance of this often-neglected aspect. Described by industry analysts as one of the largest IT outages in history, it affected more than 8.5 million devices and resulted in direct losses exceeding $8 billion. The widespread chaos—from grounded flights to halted financial services—illustrates the catastrophic impact of compromised system availability.