In July, a botched software update caused chaos for the airline industry worldwide. The CrowdStrike software bug bricked 8.5 million computers around the world on July 19, with some of the first people to notice the effects being air travelers. Anthony Bosman, an academic at Andrews University in Michigan, experienced the impact firsthand when he couldn’t download a mobile boarding pass and had to receive a handwritten boarding pass at the airport.
The bug also affected banks, telecoms firms, health services, and online retailers, leading to a senior executive at the firm appearing before a US congressional committee to apologize for the chaos caused. This incident highlighted the importance of having manual methods in place as a backup in case of IT failures.
One company that understood the value of paper-based processes was Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy firm. In 2019, hackers targeted Hydro with ransomware, locking staff out of over 20,000 computers. Despite not paying a ransom fee, the company’s employees found creative ways to continue their work using old binders, printed instructions, and even vintage office equipment.
Experts suggest that companies should plan for switching to paper-based processes in case of IT failures, with some recommending training days where employees practice using flipcharts and whiteboards instead of computers. While pen and paper systems may not scale well for large organizations, they can be crucial in maintaining operations during cyber-attacks or IT outages.
Ultimately, the key takeaway from these incidents is the importance of having backup plans and off-site data backups to ensure business continuity in the face of cyber-attacks. As technology continues to advance, it’s the simple, improvised workarounds that can save companies when a crisis hits.
