Windows is currently used by 1.5 billion people around the world every month. It is not surprising that the system’s downfall has affected the entire planet. If we add to that the fact that it takes about 150,000 people to write the program, 50 million lines of code (one million lines equals 18,000 pages), we are dealing with a software that It is equivalent, in extension, to about 1900 copies of The QuijoteIf we add to that the lines of code in the Crowdstrike software (responsible for the fall of Microsoft), we are talking about more than 2,000 “quixotes” that are frequently updated and must be able to work with each other. It is logical that at some point it will fail.
“This is always a surprise, it was not at all expected: certain circumstances that are very anomalous to occur together,” explains Juan José Nombela, director of the university master’s degree in Cybersecurity at UNIE University. “Yes, there are indeed millions of lines of code and the other software that has failed also has millions of lines of code. It is true that Systems are more complex and complexity can lead to human error. But control systems are also becoming more extensive.”
This is probably one of the big problems: it is about hundreds of thousands of pages that They must be constantly updated, taking into account that nothing fails. and they must be compatible with new programs… which are also updated.
“With digital transformation, everything is moving to the cloud and transforming, everything is digitalized – adds Nombela, a member of the Spanish Alliance for Security and Crisis -. It is normal, the more the digital world grows, the more the possibility of an error increases, but it is also counteracted by controls. A company like Crowdstrike must have about 100 people for quality control and Microsoft at least myWhen programmers deliver their code, there is a group that controls by evaluating all the combinations, what can occur, interactions with other programs, with other software…”
Before releasing the updates, each of them is subjected to hundreds of tests that evaluate how well it works on its ownbut also how they work with others. And they try to do this always with the latest versions, but “even so it is impossible to cover all the circumstances that may arise – confirms Nombela -. It is very complicated to do all the checks. This incident will mean that the systems will be reinforced”.
All experts agree that, although the appropriate controls were carried out, Human error always appears at some point and even more so with the extent of data handled at this level. And, above all, with the most widely used security program globally.
“The solution was found in a few hours – concludes Nombela -, but the impact has been great. In Spain, more than 20 IBEX 35 companies were affected. Public institutions, town councils… What we must do is to The hope is that more comprehensive testing will be done and more resources will be devoted”.
And yet, preventing it from happening again is impossible.