The major global IT outage that struck Microsoft's global system on 19 July, causing the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" to appear on the screens of airport, healthcare, banking, stock exchange systems, and many others, has raised numerous questions and global concerns about the fragility of technological infrastructure. This infrastructure, once considered a robust, irreplaceable legend, has now been exposed to vulnerabilities.
The financial impact on Microsoft and CrowdStrike— the cybersecurity company associated with Microsoft and responsible for the incident—amounted to $16 billion (1). Additionally, CrowdStrike’s stock plummeted by 11% in New York, erasing more than $9 billion from its market value (2). This incident has triggered widespread global concern, described as the most significant since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operating systems that dominate the market often make their software proprietary, depriving users of their legitimate freedom to control data and access the source code that manages, protects, and analyzes their databases. As a result, the principle of rejecting closed-source and proprietary software is a natural stance for anyone that chooses to live in freedom. These proprietary software companies use the term "patent" to attack open-source systems, also known as free software, and attempt to eliminate them.
They strategically and systematically spread across various service and educational institutions, among others. They may distribute or “donate” copies for use in schools and universities, for instance, to turn these institutions into dependent entities by making the availability of their services and technical support a way to draw these institutions into their ecosystem. This strategy aims to ultimately control a vast network of institutions and national infrastructure. With a single deliberate or accidental action, they can disrupt transportation systems, banks, healthcare, and more!
Proprietary software companies employ social and economic tactics to achieve their goals. They somehow convince users that their software is the only option for running an institution, suggesting that without it, the institution cannot function at all. They link the software to its owners, who use patents and the effort invested as emotional arguments for monopolization, control, and profit.
Looking back at history, the struggle for control and selfish profit has dismantled what nations have preserved in the past. We have reached a time when scientists only allow access to their knowledge to those with financial power, even they restrict publishing to what is impressive rather than what is genuinely beneficial to society.
The primary mistake that led major companies and key institutions around the world to fall victim to the massive outage, resulting in significant losses, was their complete reliance on a single or a limited number of suppliers for their software and technical services, whether primary or backup. This dependency limits the flexibility of companies in handling technical issues and exposes them to risks when any malfunction occurs in the software or services provided by these suppliers.
Moreover, the restrictions imposed by major companies on customizing and modifying the software according to their needs made it challenging to deal with technical problems, leaving them at the mercy of the suppliers to resolve issues and resume operations.
Open source software allows the code to be examined by anyone, increasing the likelihood of discovering security vulnerabilities quickly and providing solutions. The transparency of the source code means that companies can identify and address weaknesses without waiting for updates from closed-source software providers.
Reducing Dependency on a Single Supplier: Using open source software reduces reliance on a single or a limited number of suppliers. This means that companies are not exposed to the same risks when problems occur with closed-source software.
Complete Control over the System: Companies have full control over their software and infrastructure, allowing them to address problems quickly and efficiently.
Open source software is usually free or available at a low cost compared to closed-source software, which requires expensive licenses for usage, technical support, maintenance, and updates. This can help companies save money and invest it in other improvements or in employing their own specialized technical support staff.
Community Support: Open source software is supported by a large community of developers and users worldwide. This means that companies can benefit from diverse expertise and innovative solutions offered by the technical community and invest in talented minds.
Continuous Collaboration and Development: The large technical community can collaborate to continuously develop and improve the software, fostering innovation and ensuring that the software remains up-to-date and capable of addressing new technical challenges.
Conclusion
Using open source software can offer significant advantages to companies in terms of security, flexibility, independence, cost-effectiveness, and community support. In the face of major outages like the Microsoft outage 2024, open source software can help mitigate negative impacts and provide quick and effective solutions, enhancing companies' ability to adapt and respond to technical crises.
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