A blackout, like the one that Spain lived on April 28, has obvious negative consequences throughout the system, but also on an area that has happened more unnoticed, such as IoT, or the Internet of things.
The prolonged fall of this type of services can have devastating consequences, while silent.
For example, imagine a food factory or a logistics company in which the temperature sensors stop working, which would cause the rupture of the cold chain, in addition to obvious losses at an economic and reputational level.
Or a telecontrolled air conditioning system in a hotel chain that is off for several hours, affecting consumers and the general tourist experience.
Generalized falls, as you can see, can affect the company’s economic and reputation level, but They could also carry legal problemsin case the security systems do not respond in critical moments.
«The blackout left some very clear things,» said Asier Culebras, Wireless Logic Spain, a company specialized in telecommunications and IoT. «In the same way that we must not wait for a flood to hire flood insurance, you have to think about redundancy from the beginning.»
‘You don’t have to wait for something to prioritize redundancy’
Not all services fell on the day of the blackout, but only those who were not prepared. As happened in different supermarket chains, those who had supporting systems could continue their economic activity.
In this sense, The companies of the technological sector that had already opted for their servers in data centers with support generators could maintain their systems. Therefore, the preparation is vital.
«As happens in the world of insurance, we must not wait for something to prioritize redundancy,» Culebras explained. «With the growing demands of consumers, the new regulations and with the dependencies of external services, we must build resilient systems and reduced from the beginning. This implies more cybersecurity, greater recovery capacity and networks prepared for the future.»
But what exactly does redundancy mean and what does it imply for connected systems?
It simply consists of thinking in advance and implementing backup systems or components that allow the continuity of the business, regardless of external failures or interruptions.
«One of our clients was able to keep their service stations in operation thanks to a satellite backup based on our Starlink Leo solution, and their unattended payment systems served when the vast majority of gas stations in the area did not do it,» Culebras exemplified.
Logically, redundancy not only serves for mass blackouts, but It is crucial to other problems, such as hardware failures, human failures or cyber attacks. In this sense, redundant networks allow access to multiple Internet connection routes or use different service providers.
Additionally, backup copies are stored, such as the one mentioned by Wireless Logic, to prevent information from being lost if one or another server falls. Here a plus is to add redundant power supplies, for emergency supplies.
Therefore, Culebras has indicated that it is convenient to think about the total impact of a prolonged fall of the systems, not only in economic terms, but also legal and reputational.
«And how much would it cost you to ensure your ecosystem in front of the next blackout? If you look at it in this way, surely you don’t think so much investment,» he concluded.
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Tags: Industry, connectivity, cybersecurity