Jack Tame: Tech outages can affect us all

Apart from my beautiful wife, of course, the last person I thought of before I dozed off last night, was Dave.

Dave had texted me a few hours earlier when I was filling in for Heather on Newstalk ZB Drive, to say he was driving home from Levin to Palmerston North when he’d stopped to fill up the car and had encountered a bit of a problem.

He’d filled up the tank, but as he walked over to the foyer and tried to transfer money between his banks accounts in order to pay for his petrol, his internet banking wouldn’t work.

There he was, stranded, waiting for an enormous global technology outage to be sorted so that he could transfer the cash, pay for his gas, and finally get back home.

Although some of the tech outages had been fixed, they’re still affecting thousands upon thousands of significant operations around the World: Airports, airlines, hospitals, emergency call centres, TV and radio stations, and banks. Who’s to say Dave isn’t still out there, madly swiping at his phone and refreshing a blank page on his internet banking?

The outage was caused by Crowdstrike, a cyber security company which is ironically charged with protecting its clients. And there’s no reporting at this stage to suggest it was caused by a malicious act or a cyber attack. It’s just a plain old error. Already some experts are describing it as the largest IT outage in history.

“This is what Y2K wishes it was,” someone said on Reddit.

It’s a salient reminder just how fragile and interconnected many of our modern digital systems really are.

I’d describe myself as being mid-tier when it comes to the uptake of technology. I have a Chat GPT account. I back up my data on the cloud. I use Apple Pay on my phone. And I absoluetely abhor cash. I hate it. Notes? Coins? Seriously?! All that clutter?! I want to go about my business with the fewest things possible. I don’t think I’ve had a wallet that was capable of carrying hard currency in at least fifteen years.

But if the last thing I thought of before I hit the hay last night was poor old Dave, miserable in the dim light of a Levin petrol station forecourt, the first thing I thought of this morning was how to avoid his predicament.

On the way to the studio I stopped by an ATM and withdrew a bit of cash. Not a crazy amount, mind. Just enough for a tank of gas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from Newstalks ADB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Apart from my beautiful wife, of course, the last person
I thought of before I dozed off last night was Dave.
Dave had texted me a few hours earlier, when I
was filling in for Heather on newstalk's dB Drive yesterday afternoon,
to say that he'd been driving home from Livin to
Palmerston North when he had stopped off to fill up

(00:34):
the car with petrol and he had encountered a bit
of a problem. Dave explained that he'd filled the tank,
but as he walked over to the foyer and tried
to transfer money between his bank accounts in order to
pay for his petrol, his internet banking wouldn't work, so
there he was stranded, waiting for an enormous global technology

(00:57):
outage to be sorted so that he could transfer the cash,
pay for his fuel, and finally get back home. Although
some of the tech outages seem to have been fixed,
they are still affecting thousands upon thousands of significant operations
around the world this morning, airports, airlines, hospitals, emergency call centers,

(01:18):
TV and radio stations, banks, Who's to say, Dave isn't
still out there madly swiping at his phone, refreshing a
blank page on his Internet banking waiting, still waiting. The outage,
of course, was caused by this company, crowd Strike. It's
a cybersecurity company which is ironically charged with protecting its clients.

(01:43):
And there is no reporting at this stage to suggest
that this problem was caused by like a malicious act
or a cyber attank, anything like that. It's just a
plain old mistake, a plain old era, and already some
experts are describing it as the single largest IT outage
in history. Quote this is what Y two k wishes

(02:05):
it was, and said on Reddit. Tell you what, though,
it is a salient reminder just how fragile and interconnected
many of our modern digital systems really are. A see.
I would describe myself as being kind of mid tier
when it comes to the uptake of technology. I'm not

(02:25):
a total yuppie, but I have a chat GPT account,
I back up my data on the cloud, I use
Apple Pay on my phone, and I absolutely abhor cash.
I hate cash notes coins seriously. In twenty twenty four,
all of that clutter, Ugh, I want to go about

(02:47):
my business with the fewest things possible. I don't think
I've had a wallet that was actually capable of carrying
hard currency in at least fifteen years. But if the
last thing I thought of before I hit the hay
last night was poor old Dave, miserable in the dim
light of a Livin petrol station forecourt, the first thing

(03:10):
I thought of this morning was how to avoid Dave's predicament.
On the way to the studio, I stopped by an
ATM and withdrew a few hundred dollars in cash, not
a crazy amount, just enough for a tank of gas.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks at B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio