July Newsletter

Big Tech Trouble: CrowdStrike and Microsoft Outages

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What Happened with CrowdStrike?

On July 19, 2024, a bad update from CrowdStrike's Falcon sensor software caused many Windows computers to crash and show the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). This problem hit over 8.5 million devices worldwide, causing big issues, especially for hospitals and banks.

Impact on Healthcare:

• System Failures: Hospitals couldn't use their electronic health records (EHR) or patient management systems, delaying patient care. Imagine doctors and nurses not being able to access patient information or manage appointments. This can be very dangerous in emergencies.
• Manual Fixes Needed: IT teams had to manually fix each computer. This was slow and hard because they had to boot each computer into safe mode and delete certain files. Plus, they had to make sure they followed data protection laws like HIPAA and GDPR, which protect patient information.

Impact on Financial Services:

• Service Interruptions: Banks and financial services faced outages, disrupting online banking, payment processing, and trading platforms. This meant customers couldn't access their accounts, make transactions, or trade stocks.
• Data Security Risks: The incident increased the risk of data breaches. Hackers tried to exploit the confusion to steal sensitive financial information, which could lead to fraud and other crimes.

Microsoft Global Outage: What Happened?

On July 31, 2024, Microsoft faced a major outage affecting services like Outlook, Microsoft 365, Teams, and Azure. This outage caused many businesses to halt their operations, the details:

• Widespread Issues: Thousands of people reported problems with services like Outlook and Minecraft. Even a major coffee chain's app stopped working, so customers couldn't order ahead or use their rewards points.
• Business Disruptions: Banks, supermarkets, airlines, and train services experienced disruptions. This led to delays, grounded flights, and many travellers being stuck.
• Microsoft's Response: They acknowledged the issue on their status website, saying it was a "network infrastructure" problem. Microsoft is investigating to fix it and has provided updates on their service health status page.

5 Steps How Periculo Can Help

We offer several services to help organisations recover and protect themselves from similar incidents:

Quick Recovery

Incident Response: We help contain the issue, remove threats, and restore systems quickly. Our team works around the clock to ensure minimal downtime and disruption.

Manual Fixes: We assist IT teams with the manual interventions needed for recovery, ensuring that every step complies with data protection regulations.

Analysing and Reporting

Root Cause Analysis: We find out what went wrong and how to prevent it in the future. This helps organisations understand the incident and avoid similar issues.

Compliance Reports: We help prepare reports for laws like GDPR and HIPAA, ensuring that all regulatory requirements are met.

Better Security Measures

Patch Management: We test and manage updates to prevent crashes. By thoroughly testing updates in a controlled environment, we ensure they are safe to deploy.

System Hardening: We secure systems to protect against future threats. This includes regular scans for vulnerabilities and applying necessary security measures.

Employee Training

Phishing Awareness: We train staff to recognise and avoid phishing attempts. This is crucial, as hackers often use phishing emails to exploit such incidents.

Response Drills: We conduct regular practice drills for handling cybersecurity incidents, ensuring that everyone knows their role during an emergency.

Continuity and Recovery Plans

BCP and DRP: We develop plans to keep businesses running during and after disruptions. This includes strategies for maintaining critical operations and quickly recovering systems.

Regular Testing: We regularly test these plans to ensure they are effective and updated with the latest information.

The CrowdStrike and Microsoft outages show how important it is to have strong cybersecurity and quick recovery plans. Periculo can help your organisation stay safe and prepared, ensuring smooth operations even during tech troubles.

Drop us a message today to learn more about our services and how we can support your business.

Spotlight: Another NHS Cyber Attack!

Cyber Attack at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals

NHS England is looking into a cyber attack on Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The attack happened on July 17, 2024, but was quickly detected and stopped. Now, a full investigation is underway.

An NHS England spokesperson said that the attack has been contained and it did not affect patient care. The cybersecurity team is working closely with the hospital to understand what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again.

This attack follows a series of cyber attacks on the NHS. In June 2024, a ransomware attack by the Russian group Qilin targeted pathology provider Synnovis, disrupting health services in south-east London and causing thousands of appointments and operations to be postponed. Similarly, NHS Dumfries and Galloway experienced a cyber attack in March 2024, leading to the theft and online publication of around three terabytes of patient data.

It is predicted that the NHS and Digital Health organisations will see an increase in attacks and to help combat this, the government plans to introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. This aims to better protect important public services from cyber attacks.

This cyber attack comes days after the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Acute Hospital Collaborative, which includes Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, announced an ￡88 million deal with Meditech for a new electronic patient record system. This new system will help improve patient care and data management.

This latest cyber attack marks the third incident targeting the NHS since March, highlighting the growing threat to healthcare cybersecurity. The planned Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will further strengthen defences against such attacks in the future.

Security Tip: Get Your FREE Vulnerability Scan

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• Ensure that your network and systems are up-to-date and secure.
• Meet industry and government regulations, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and Data Protection Act.
• Gain peace of mind, knowing that you have taken steps to protect your business.

Contact Us to find out more

Did You Know?

The first antivirus software was created in the late 1980s by a German company called G Data Software. This early version was quite basic compared to today's standards.

Today's antivirus programs are much more advanced and are essential for protecting computers and devices from malware. They use various techniques, such as heuristic analysis and machine learning, to detect and block threats in real time.

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Regularly update yours to ensure that they can combat the latest cyber threats.

The Most Simple Security Management System

Harpe is the best way to manage your ISMS. Harpe is an instant security management system that enables you to meet all the requirements of ISO 27001.

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