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CrowdStrike, a company that protects computer systems from threats, released a software update that caused Windows computers to be unusable. The updated software caused major airlines to cancel flights and lose track of their airline crews. Many health care providers were not able to provide essential services. Many banks could not accept deposits. Governments shut down services such as border crossings, driver license bureaus, and civil and criminal courts. Most services were back online after a few days, but some were not fully available until a week later.
Horowitz experienced some of the cascading effects of the outages when flying on Delta Airlines. Delta flights typically leave on time. However, a week after the cybersecurity software update, Delta delayed each of Horowitz’s flights for several hours. Talking to airline employees about their experience, they noted delays had significantly improved after a very stressful week.
CrowdStrike’s website advertises that customers trust its software to provide industry-leading cybersecurity protection. CrowdStrike tries to prevent problems, similar to preventive medicine. Ironically, preventive medicine or computer services treatments can create other errors, misdiagnoses and over-treatment. Prevention, like cures, can sometimes be worse than the disease.
It is difficult for businesses and individuals to forecast all risks. The Paris Olympics put in place extraordinary police protection but didn’t foresee the sabotage of the French high-speed rail lines. Parents concerned about their children’s safety and development might become too involved, which might cause their children to have difficulty meeting challenges and handling difficult situations.
Consider four ways individuals and organizations can handle difficulties. First, they can correct the cause of a problem that happened in the past, such as fixing the software or repairing the roof. Second, they can prevent a problem that might occur in the future, such as protecting a home from fire by not smoking and fixing the electrical wiring. Third, they can adapt to the effects of something that happened in the past, such as putting a bucket under a leaking roof. Fourth, they can make contingency plans to mitigate the impact of a future problem, such as putting in a sprinkler system or having fire insurance.
All organizations and individuals face problems. Sometimes, they must correct past problems or adapt until they can solve them. Organizations and individuals should also prevent future problems that can lead to loss of life, money, or reputation and create contingency plans to mitigate the effects of future problems.•
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Bohanon and Horowitz are professors of economics at Ball State University. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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