As we begin 2025, the need for robust infrastructure protection has never been more critical.
PagerDuty’s research reveals that 88% of business leaders expect a major outage within the next year, a concern validated by the July 2024 CrowdStrike incident that affected 8.5 million Windows Server devices. This event left 83% of businesses scrambling to respond, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive preparation.
The key question every organization must answer is: Would your team know exactly what to do if your primary systems failed right now? What if your backup systems also failed?
These aren’t hypothetical scenarios—they’re situations every organization must methodically prepare for.
Here are seven essential action items all companies should take to protect their infrastructures from attacks and outages:
1. Implement a Zero-Trust Security Framework
Action Item: Transition to a Zero Trust security model across all systems and networks.
Trust nothing and verify everything. This approach requires:
1. Continuous authentication for all users and devices
2. Implementation of strong multi-factor authentication
3. Network segmentation to contain potential breaches
4. Regular policy reviews to ensure access remains appropriate as teams and roles change
By adopting a Zero Trust model, organizations can significantly enhance their security posture and reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks. This approach is particularly crucial as the workforce becomes increasingly distributed.
Read Also: Building Resilient Platforms for Peak Traffic
2. Establish Clear Command Structures and Incident Response Plans
Action Item: Create, test, and regularly update a robust incident response plan with clear command structures.
Organizations often falter during outages not from technical limitations, but from coordination challenges. To address this:
1. Designate primary and secondary incident commanders, communication leads, and technical leads
2. Practice these roles through regular simulations until response becomes muscle memory
3. Define clear procedures for containment, eradication, and recovery
4. Establish communication protocols for internal and external stakeholders
5. Regularly conduct tabletop exercises and simulations to test the plan’s effectiveness
An incident response plan should be a living document that evolves with your organization’s changing needs and the evolving threat landscape. Regular testing and updates ensure that your team is prepared to respond swiftly and effectively when an outage occurs.
3. Deploy Advanced Monitoring and Threat Detection Systems
Action Item: Implement smart monitoring systems and cutting-edge threat detection technologies.
Alerts without context waste precious response time. To improve your detection and response capabilities:
1. Ensure each notification indicates impact, potential causes, and immediate next steps
2. Implement modern monitoring solutions that detect anomalies early and help teams understand which customers are affected and how severely services are degraded
3. Deploy next-generation firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS)
4. Utilize security information and event management (SIEM) solutions
5. Leverage AI and machine learning-powered threat intelligence systems
By investing in these technologies, organizations can significantly improve their ability to detect and respond to potential threats in real-time, minimizing the impact of outages and security breaches.
4. Implement Robust Network Segmentation and Redundancy
Action Item: Design and implement a highly segmented network architecture with redundant systems and regular testing.
Network segmentation is crucial for containing the spread of attacks and minimizing the impact of outages. Combine this with redundancy measures to reduce the risk of widespread outages:
1. Identify critical systems and data flows within your organization
2. Create logical or physical network segments based on function, data sensitivity, and compliance requirements
3. Implement strict access controls between segments using firewalls and access control lists (ACLs)
4. Deploy redundant systems and network paths to ensure continuity in case of failures
5. Schedule controlled failover exercises that include database replications, network paths, and alternative service providers
Remember: redundancy without testing is merely an expensive hope. Regular validation of backup systems is essential to ensure they function when needed most.
5. Prioritize Cloud Security and Multi-Cloud Strategies
Action Item: Develop a comprehensive cloud security strategy and implement a multi-cloud approach to enhance resilience.
As organizations increasingly rely on cloud services, ensuring the security and availability of cloud-based resources becomes paramount. Key elements include:
1. Implementing strong identity and access management (IAM) controls for cloud resources
2. Encrypting data both in transit and at rest across all cloud environments
3. Regularly conducting security assessments and penetration testing of cloud infrastructure
4. Leveraging cloud-native security tools and services provided by cloud service providers
5. Implementing a multi-cloud strategy to distribute workloads and reduce single points of failure
6. Developing and testing cloud-specific disaster recovery and business continuity plans
By adopting a multi-cloud approach, organizations can mitigate the risk of vendor lock-in and reduce the impact of provider-specific outages.
6. Foster a Culture of Open Learning and Cybersecurity Awareness
Action Item: Develop a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness program and create an environment that encourages open learning from incidents.
Human error remains one of the leading causes of security breaches and IT outages. To address this:
1. Develop a comprehensive security awareness training program
2. Conduct regular simulated phishing exercises
3. Implement a clear and easily accessible security policy
4. Encourage open communication about security concerns
5. Establish a non-punitive reporting system for potential incidents
6. Create an environment where people share mistakes openly, focusing on system improvements rather than individual blame
By fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness and open learning, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of human-induced outages and security breaches while turning each incident into an opportunity to strengthen infrastructure and prevent future failures.
7. Practice Controlled Chaos Engineering
Action Item: Implement a program of controlled disruptions to build resilience and improve response capabilities.
Introduce planned disruptions during business hours through careful testing:
1. Start small and gradually increase complexity
2. Regularly expose teams to controlled failures to build confidence
3. Improve response capabilities for real emergencies
4. Use these exercises to identify weaknesses in systems and processes
5. Continuously refine and update your incident response plans based on lessons learned
Organizations that master outage preparedness often discover benefits beyond technical resilience. Teams become more cohesive, customer relationships strengthen, and innovation accelerates. Understanding how systems fail creates confidence to build better solutions.
Parting Thoughts
Outages will occur. The question isn’t if, but when—and more importantly, how well you’ll respond when they do. By implementing these seven action items, organizations can significantly enhance their resilience against potential attacks and outages. This proactive approach not only protects against disruptions but also provides a competitive advantage in an increasingly complex technological environment.
For business leaders questioning the investment in preparation, consider both immediate costs and long-term implications. Every minute of downtime affects not just operations, but customer trust and market reputation. The most expensive disaster recovery plan is the one you wish you had implemented before an outage.
Are you ready to move from reaction to preparation?
The time to act is now.
Nabeil Sarhan, MBA, is a dynamic technology delivery manager with over 15 years of experience in tech, cybersecurity, and computing scalability. He excels in leading diverse teams and delivering enterprise-class systems across industries such as healthcare, finance, and retail. Nabeil’s passion for solution design, systems architecture, and performance optimization makes him a sought-after consultant. He holds degrees from Harvard, MIT, and Bryant University. Connect with Nabeil on LinkedIn or Twitter