The Banking Executive Magazine - August 2024 Issue

Towards a Universal Ecosystem ing to ensure systems can handle peak loads. • Backup and Recovery: Maintaining regular backups of critical data to ensure quick recovery in case of a crash, developing and regularly updating a disaster recovery plan to minimize downtime and data loss. • User Training and Best Practices: Educating users on safe computing practices and how to avoid com- mon pitfalls, keeping detailed doc- umentation of the IT infrastructure and procedures, and scheduling regular maintenance checks to keep everything running smoothly. • Proactive Management: by using predictive analytics to anticipate and address potential issues before they cause crashes, and imple- menting a structured change man- agement process to ensure smooth transitions and minimize disrup- tions. These strategies can significantly re- duce the risk of crashes and ensure a more stable and reliable environ- ment. TOWARDS A UNIVERSAL ECOSYSTEM TO PREVENT GLOBAL IT OUTAGE A seemingly routine software update can reap such worldwide chaos should serve as a wake-up call. Crashes, hacks and data breaches are a mounting threat as the global econ- omy becomes more digitalised and interconnected. Computers and the internet already underpin everything from stock exchanges and electric vehicles to central heating. Creating a robust ecosystem to pre- vent IT crashes involves integrating various tools, practices, and strate- gies to ensure stability and resilience. The Union of Arabic Banks calls for the formation of a universal ecosys- tem to prevent global IT outage and the establishment of an independent body for the control and develop- ment of technology at the global level. The ecosystem will be governed by the legislative authority to audit the performance and operations of major technology companies to prevent the misuse of technology, hedge against the risks of IT outage, monitor per- formance and set standards to design technology according to human needs and not to destroy it, support the development of technology ac- cording to specified standards, and enforce digital infrastructure cyber resilience. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 12 ISSUE 188 AUGUST 2024