Reuters (June 9)
“Like the banking system, the internet looks simple from the outside but is really an elaborate patchwork. Tuesday’s outage involving Fastly (FSLY.N), a so-called content delivery network, is a reminder for people with their lives in the cloud that pieces of the puzzle can fail. And unlike with banks, there’s little government oversight and no backstop, so it’s good for users to be reminded that instant online gratification is not guaranteed.”
Tags: Banking system, Cloud, Content delivery, Elaborate, Fastly, Government, Internet, Network, Outage, Oversight, Patchwork, Simple
LA Times (August 8)
“Delta’s computer outage highlights the airline industry’s vulnerability.” On Monday, over 650 flights were cancelled and over 2,000 delayed when Delta’s system went down. These massive failures are becoming more common amidst airline consolidation and expansive systems. “Experts have blamed the rash of outages on massive, interconnected computer systems that lack sufficient staff and financial backing.”
Tags: Airlines. Vulnerability, Cancelled, Computer, Consolidation, Delayed, Delta, Flights, Outage
LA Times (March 16)
“Californians may be inured to rolling blackouts that cut off their power for hours at a time, but imagine an outage that darkens the entire country — for more than a year.” A federal report, disclosed by the Wall Street Journal, shows this “nightmare scenario” could result if just nine critical substations were knocked out. Officials need to take action and “address the frightening challenges posed by the grid’s reliance on custom-fitted equipment that can take months, if not years, to replace.”
Tags: Action, Blackouts, California, Challenges, Equipment, Grid, Nightmare, Outage, Power, Scenario, Substations
