Our Interconnected, Resilient, Modern World ... is Still Painfully and Remarkably Brittle: A Case Study of the Risks of Technology Failures.
Saved in:
| Title: | Our Interconnected, Resilient, Modern World ... is Still Painfully and Remarkably Brittle: A Case Study of the Risks of Technology Failures. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Witman, Paul1 witman@ieee.org, Prior, Jim1 jr2dg.consulting@gmail.com |
| Source: | Information Systems Education Journal. Mar2026, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p16-26. 11p. |
| Subject Terms: | Computer system failures, Supply chain disruptions, Fault tolerance (Engineering), Cyberterrorism, Loss control, System failures, Information technology security, Flight delays & cancellations (Airlines) |
| Company/Entity: | CrowdStrike Inc. |
| Abstract: | 8.5 million Windows PCs failed to restart in July of 2024. CrowdStrike, an IT security company, delivered updates with a faulty configuration file to millions of Windows PCs around the world. The failure disrupted or halted the global operations of airlines, banks, medical facilities, and much more. Many PCs were unable to reboot without direct human intervention. This resulted in delays that impacted the recovery time for all types of businesses, as well as their employees, supply chains, and consumers. The paper also provides several other failure scenarios for student analysis, including cyber-attacks on health care and government, and a broader system failure in air traffic control, as well as a detailed background in the underlying principles of technological resilience. This teaching case for undergraduate and graduate information systems courses encourages students to examine key questions for each event: What went wrong, what was the root cause, and why didn’t we see this failure coming? What can we learn from each case that might help technology leaders and their business counterparts to further mitigate the risk of any similar events?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Information Systems Education Journal is the property of Information Systems & Computing Academic Professionals (ISCAP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 192495543 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Our Interconnected, Resilient, Modern World ... is Still Painfully and Remarkably Brittle: A Case Study of the Risks of Technology Failures. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Witman%2C+Paul%22">Witman, Paul</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> witman@ieee.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Prior%2C+Jim%22">Prior, Jim</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jr2dg.consulting@gmail.com</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Information+Systems+Education+Journal%22">Information Systems Education Journal</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p16-26. 11p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+system+failures%22">Computer system failures</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Supply+chain+disruptions%22">Supply chain disruptions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fault+tolerance+%28Engineering%29%22">Fault tolerance (Engineering)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cyberterrorism%22">Cyberterrorism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Loss+control%22">Loss control</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22System+failures%22">System failures</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+technology+security%22">Information technology security</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Flight+delays+%26+cancellations+%28Airlines%29%22">Flight delays & cancellations (Airlines)</searchLink> – Name: SubjectCompany Label: Company/Entity Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22CrowdStrike+Inc%2E%22">CrowdStrike Inc.</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: 8.5 million Windows PCs failed to restart in July of 2024. CrowdStrike, an IT security company, delivered updates with a faulty configuration file to millions of Windows PCs around the world. The failure disrupted or halted the global operations of airlines, banks, medical facilities, and much more. Many PCs were unable to reboot without direct human intervention. This resulted in delays that impacted the recovery time for all types of businesses, as well as their employees, supply chains, and consumers. The paper also provides several other failure scenarios for student analysis, including cyber-attacks on health care and government, and a broader system failure in air traffic control, as well as a detailed background in the underlying principles of technological resilience. This teaching case for undergraduate and graduate information systems courses encourages students to examine key questions for each event: What went wrong, what was the root cause, and why didn’t we see this failure coming? What can we learn from each case that might help technology leaders and their business counterparts to further mitigate the risk of any similar events?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Information Systems Education Journal is the property of Information Systems & Computing Academic Professionals (ISCAP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=192495543 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.62273/PSAS2989 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 11 StartPage: 16 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Computer system failures Type: general – SubjectFull: Supply chain disruptions Type: general – SubjectFull: Fault tolerance (Engineering) Type: general – SubjectFull: Cyberterrorism Type: general – SubjectFull: Loss control Type: general – SubjectFull: System failures Type: general – SubjectFull: Information technology security Type: general – SubjectFull: Flight delays & cancellations (Airlines) Type: general – SubjectFull: CrowdStrike Inc. Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Our Interconnected, Resilient, Modern World ... is Still Painfully and Remarkably Brittle: A Case Study of the Risks of Technology Failures. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Witman, Paul – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Prior, Jim IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1545679X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 24 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Information Systems Education Journal Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
