An update from cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike went wrong last week. The update, intended to bolster defenses, malfunctioned instead, causing widespread crashes on Windows machines. This incident highlights the critical, yet sometimes overlooked, step of thorough testing before deploying updates. Even if your company utilizes a different solution than CrowdStrike (Fairdinkum utilizes a different platform), the following best practices are universally applicable to ensure smooth updates that don’t disrupt your business.

Testing Before Deployment: A Key Step

To avoid issues, testing updates in a safe, controlled environment is crucial. By using a staging area that mirrors your production environment you can test the update and measure the impact on your defenses before applying it to the live system. This way, you can identify potential conflicts and address them proactively.

Backups: Your Safety Net

Even with the best planning, things can go wrong. Having a solid backup and recovery plan is like having a hidden escape tunnel in your castle. If an update creates problems, you can quickly restore your systems to a working state using backups, like snapshots of your system before the update.

Balancing Security and Stability

Despite our best efforts, updates can sometimes lead to disruptions. Maintaining comprehensive backup and recovery plans ensures that if an update does cause disruptions, your systems can be quickly restored to their previous state. To minimize these risks, it’s important to have a clear update policy. This policy should include:

• Scheduled Maintenance Windows: Dedicate specific times for updates to minimize disruption.
• Detailed Documentation: Keep track of all changes made during updates.
• Open Communication: Keep your IT team and service providers informed about updates.

By following these practices, businesses can find a balance between robust cybersecurity and smooth operations. The CrowdStrike incident serves as a reminder that even established companies with multiple checkpoints can make mistakes. However, by learning from these experiences, we can all improve our cybersecurity practices.

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