The widespread IT outage that disrupted the global economy on Friday has spurred debate about whether businesses should adopt a decentralised infrastructure to mitigate such future occurrences.
The outage, caused by a software update from cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, caused Windows machines to crash, leaving many enterprises struggling.
Experts, who spoke to The PUNCH, said that as businesses increasingly rely on digital solutions, the need for robust and decentralised infrastructure becomes more pressing.
Decentralised infrastructure refers to a system or network that is distributed, decentralised, and often operated by a community or multiple stakeholders rather than a single central authority or entity.
“The global outage is a stark reminder of the dangers of centralization. When infrastructure is overloaded or consolidated on a single entity, it becomes problematic. That’s why decentralisation is very important,” the co-founder of Recital Finance, Bobola Ojo-Ami, remarked.
He further stressed the need for Nigeria to establish a decentralised core infrastructure to prevent future outages.
“Issues like this make it clear that we need to prioritise decentralisation, especially in areas like finance and transportation,” he emphasised.
Cybersecurity Researcher at King’s College London, Chukwuka Madumere, said businesses needed to re-evaluate their security strategies.
“In a market where reliability and continuity are paramount, such disruptions can erode client trust and lead to financial losses,” he noted.
The researcher said the financial repercussions extended beyond immediate operational disruptions, with businesses facing significant monetary losses due to paused operations, lost revenue, and increased costs.
Madumere advised Nigerian businesses and global firms to adopt a multi-layered cybersecurity approach, diversify their security tools, and conduct regular audits of their cybersecurity infrastructure.