# What can we learn from Facebook going down?
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-12-02
Category: TECHNOLOGY
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/technology
Meta Title: How Facebook Outage Can Impact Your Business
Meta Description: Learn from Facebook's outage by decentralising network control and mitigating human error to protect against similar disasters. Read more.
URL: https://financedigest.com/what-can-we-learn-from-facebook-going-downhtml

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_By_ **_Richard Menear,_** _CEO,_ [_Burning Tree_](http://www.burningtree.co.uk/) _,_

Many of us could not imagine a world without social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram.

However, this became a reality for billions of users on 4 October 2021, when Facebook and its subsidiaries became suddenly and globally unavailable for more than five hours.

People worldwide depend on social networks for everything from conducting business to staying connected with loved ones. So, this widescale outage has prompted [organisations to wonder how this could have happened — and the implications for their own business](https://www.financedigest.com/how-giving-insights-into-card-spend-can-help-organisations-to-manage-their-business.html "How giving insights into card spend can help organisations to manage their business"), should they experience a similar fault.

**The domino effect**

So, what was the catalyst for Facebook’s downtime? Were there malicious actors involved? Was it the result of an attempt to steal [user data](https://www.financedigest.com/datawallet-partners-with-indorse-and-steemit-allows-users-to-earn-profit-for-sharing-data.html "Datawallet Partners with Indorse and Steemit, Allows Users to Earn Profit for Sharing Data")?

On the contrary, [Facebook released a statement](https://engineering.fb.com/2021/10/04/networking-traffic/outage/) explaining that it was something far less sinister. Configuration changes on the background routers that coordinate [network traffic between data centres](https://www.financedigest.com/keysource-awarded-major-contract-to-design-nationwide-network-of-data-centres-throughout-china.html "KEYSOURCE AWARDED MAJOR CONTRACT TO DESIGN  NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF DATA CENTRES THROUGHOUT CHINA") caused issues that interrupted this communication. And as Facebook runs all its [services](https://www.financedigest.com/30-per-cent-of-uk-consumers-would-use-amazon-google-facebook-or-apple-for-banking-services.html "30 Per Cent of UK Consumers Would Use Amazon, Google, Facebook or Apple for Banking Services") through Facebook, this had a cascading effect on its other services.

Companies such as Facebook use Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to advertise the location of their [data centres](https://www.financedigest.com/hr-data-taking-centre-stage-in-the-financial-sector.html "HR data: taking centre stage in the financial sector") to the internet. Internet routers need this information to request access to relevant servers, so a faulty configuration change to this [system is what caused routers to conclude that Facebook’s data](https://www.financedigest.com/interoperability-of-data-to-accelerate-the-ventilator-test-systems-market.html "Interoperability of data to accelerate the Ventilator Test Systems Market") centres simply did not exist, rendering its various apps and services unusable.

The outage [lasted so long because the network that went down was the same one that staff needed to access the network and fix the issue remotely](https://www.financedigest.com/remote-working-tips-to-help-it-last-longer.html "Remote working tips to help IT last longer"). On top of this, it also took out Facebook Workplace (an online collaborative software tool) and third-party [communication apps](https://www.financedigest.com/one-app-for-a-total-communications-experience.html "One App for a Total Communications Experience"). The fault reportedly prevented staff from physically accessing its data centres, as their site [access cards depended on functioning internal systems](https://www.financedigest.com/telehealth-monitoring-to-rule-the-the-transseptal-access-systems-market.html "Telehealth monitoring to rule the The Transseptal Access Systems Market").

Not only did this impact the [businesses and individuals who rely on Facebook’s network](https://www.financedigest.com/the-new-wifi-how-private-5g-networks-could-revolutionise-business.html "The New WiFi? How Private 5G Networks Could Revolutionise Business") of social media products, but it also had significant financial consequences for Facebook itself. [Founder Mark Zuckerberg’s personal fortune was diminished by $7 billion](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/05/facebook-outage-highlights-global-over-reliance-on-its-services) (almost £5.1 billion), and the company lost more than $13 million (nearly £9.5 million) in advertising revenue every hour it was out of action.

**A** [wake-up call](https://www.financedigest.com/a-wake-up-call-for-merchants-this-festive-season.html "A wake-up call for merchants this festive season?")

You may be thinking that if something like this can happen to a digital empire like Facebook, what is [stopping it from happening to my business](https://www.financedigest.com/defined-benefit-pension-schemes-should-they-stop-you-buying-a-business.html "Defined benefit pension schemes: should they stop you buying a business?")?

In short, the answer is nothing. Without the proper [contingencies in place](https://www.financedigest.com/private-equity-firms-hungry-for-investment-opportunities-but-business-owners-must-be-cautious.html "Half of Security Professionals Had No Contingency Plan in Place for COVID-19"), this unfortunate scenario could befall any organisation. So, here are a few things you should take away from this event to prevent such a disaster from occurring…

**Decentralise network control**

Having your business’ [information stored on one centralised system](https://www.financedigest.com/the-radiology-information-systems-market-shall-be-growing-unabatedly-in-the-future.html "The Radiology Information Systems Market shall be growing unabatedly in the future") might seem like the most straightforward approach, but too many mutually dependent systems in a network could facilitate a Facebook-scale shutdown. Instead, decentralising control by [migrating to cloud](https://www.financedigest.com/a-cloud-migration-guide-for-financial-institutions.html "A Cloud Migration Guide for Financial Institutions") architecture will ensure data is distributed and remotely accessible, preventing a fault at one data centre from impacting other networks.

**Mitigate against** [human error](https://www.financedigest.com/outthink-raises-10-million-to-tackle-human-errors-behind-data-breaches.html "OutThink raises million to tackle human errors behind data breaches")

No matter how hard IT professionals work to [manage various risks](https://www.financedigest.com/aon-launches-new-catastrophe-model-to-manage-the-risk-of-icelands-most-disastrous-peril-earthquake.html "Aon launches new catastrophe model to manage the risk of Iceland’s most disastrous peril: Earthquake"), mistakes will sometimes happen. [Human error is a leading cause of system downtime,](https://www.vxchnge.com/blog/common-causes-of-server-downtime) and [phishing attacks remain the most common cyber threat](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2021/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2021) to businesses. So, no matter what size, every company must enforce training and policies to address this issue and prevent a breach from disrupting uptime. By automating risk assessment and threat modelling with [artificial intelligence](https://www.financedigest.com/types-of-artificial-intelligence.html "Types of artificial intelligence") (AI) or machine learning (ML) and promoting company-wide cyber awareness, business leaders can reduce the likelihood of human error causing a fault.

[**Invest in the necessary technology**](https://www.financedigest.com/adnami-to-receive-six-figure-sum-of-investment-from-danish-government-in-recognition-of-its-pioneering-technology-and-strategy.html "Adnami to receive six-figure sum of investment from Danish government in recognition of its pioneering technology and strategy")

In the modern world, businesses and cyber [security teams must](https://www.financedigest.com/fintechs-must-remove-security-and-compliance-friction-to-unlock-new-growth.html "Fintechs Must Remove Security and Compliance Friction to Unlock New Growth") have the appropriate software and technology to keep pace with rapid digitisation. [Physical data centre infrastructure will always be more vulnerable than cloud-based systems](https://www.financedigest.com/cyber-physical-system-market-to-witness-a-cagr-of-8-7.html "Cyber-Physical System Market to witness a CAGR of 8.7% "), as hardware can fail unexpectedly. Embracing the latest IoT-enabled technology and [upgrading to remote servers will help automate routine processes](https://www.financedigest.com/companies-that-dont-upgrade-their-financial-processes-this-year-will-get-left-behind.html "Companies that don’t upgrade their financial processes this year will get left behind"), prevent system and equipment failures and improve the robustness of cyber security systems.


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