July 2024 Global Tech Outage: Emphasizing the Value of Crisis Comms
Published on September 18, 2024, at 9:22 p.m.
by Rhodes Reddick.
On the morning of July 19, 2024, the world woke up to one of the largest internet crashes ever recorded.
CrowdStrike, an American cybersecurity company, uploaded a faulty update. In the blink of an eye, the security update triggered a global disruption that impacted several sectors ranging from airlines to hospitals. The outage exposed the fragility of the active business market and reminded the world of the value of maintaining proactive crisis communication plans.
Although I didn’t feel the impact of the outage on a professional level, the tech outage disrupted the girls weekend I had planned in Dallas, Texas. Delta Air Lines canceled more than 4,000 flights and reported a $380 million revenue hit in response to the CrowdStrike crash.
But looking past my frustration toward the situation, CrowdStrike’s faulty update and the worldwide impacts it had reminded many why public relations professionals are paid to worry and plan for any and every potential crisis.
Brand reputation
Leaders at CrowdStrike were quick to recognize their fault and acknowledge the problem. The company used social media to ensure all relevant parties were kept up to date. CEO George Kurtz actively tweeted throughout the crisis, acknowledging awareness of the issue and taking responsibility for the company’s role in creating the situation.
Crisis management
The outage highlighted the importance of having established protocols and spokespersons in place to address the issue in a timely and trustworthy manner. Communicating and providing all relevant information to your audience is a smart strategy to hold on to the trust that still remains through brand loyalty.
“A crisis is not a brand death sentence: How the business responds during the crisis speaks volumes about the company’s character and can, over the long haul, make the brand stronger,” wrote Ian Bruce, VP and principal analyst for Forrester, in a recent Forbes article.
The CrowdStrike security update was a high stakes yet realistic example of how companies need to stay up to date on everything going on in, around and related to their business. The blue screen of death that nearly 8.5 million Outlook users viewed on their screens has the opportunity to be a proceed with caution rather than a stop sign.
