As a founder of Civo and a founder of Defense.com, I find myself in a unique position to comment on recent events, having founded both a cloud computing provider and also cyber security company. I’ve long warned about the dangers of placing too much power in the hands of a few big tech companies, and the recent global outage caused by a faulty software update only underscores the urgency of this issue.

We’ve seen firsthand how a simple mistake can escalate into a global crisis, affecting airlines, hospitals, governments, and businesses around the world. This incident wasn’t the result of a cyber attack but rather a faulty update from CrowdStrike, affecting only certain Windows devices. Yet, the cascading effects were felt across other systems and devices, highlighting our dependency on these key providers.

The fragility of global digital infrastructure

The chaos we witnessed – grounded flights, disrupted hospital services, and paralysed financial transactions—demonstrates the fragility of our digitised world. When a single company like Microsoft, with its vast number of Windows devices, is hit, the ripple effects can be devastating. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such an incident, and it’s unlikely to be the last.

I’ve written extensively about the risks of consolidating too much power with a few tech giants. The reliance on these companies creates single points of failure in our global infrastructure. When things go wrong, they go wrong on a massive scale, as we have just seen. Furthermore, CrowdStrike themselves hold a 24% market share in the endpoint security market, adding another layer of concern about the concentration of power and the potential for widespread disruption.

Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash

The need for urgent government and regulatory action

Governments and regulators must step in to ensure that such situations are not repeated. It’s time to break the monopolies of big tech and promote a truly multi-cloud world. By opening up the cloud and encouraging a diverse range of providers, we can build a more resilient and robust digital infrastructure.

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the dominance of big tech companies. With the recent change in government to the Labour Party, I strongly encourage them to scrutinise these issues carefully before committing fully to the lock-in of big tech. The emergence of AI further complicates this landscape, posing new threats and challenges that we must address proactively.

The dangers of AI and big tech monopolies

Not only are we gambling with our sovereign economies by relying heavily on a few tech giants, but we are also facing the potential rise of AI-driven threats. As AI technology advances, the control and influence of big tech companies over these developments could lead to unforeseen dangers. We need an open, transparent, and fair cloud and IT ecosystem to mitigate these risks.

A call to action

The recent outage is a wake-up call. It is imperative that we diversify our digital infrastructure and reduce our dependence on a few major players. By fostering competition and innovation through a multi-cloud strategy, we can safeguard our systems and ensure they are resilient against both human errors and malicious attacks.

I urge governments and regulators to take decisive action to break the stranglehold of big tech. Let’s build a future where our digital world is not held hostage by a few, but is a robust, secure, and resilient ecosystem that empowers innovation and growth.

In conclusion

We must learn from this incident and take proactive steps to prevent such widespread disruptions in the future. The path forward requires collaboration between governments, regulators, and the tech industry to create a more open and competitive environment. Only then can we ensure the stability and security of our digital infrastructure, protecting it from the vulnerabilities exposed by our over-reliance on a few powerful entities.