The blackout that paralyzed a good part of the Iberian Peninsula and southern France has had a much greater impact than the cuts of light suffered by millions of citizens. The massive electrical disconnection directly affected the technological systems of companies, public administrations and essential services, evidencing a threat that until now had remained in the background: the extreme dependence of digital infrastructure with respect to the electricity supply.
Data centers, health services and financial entities saw how their operations stopped abruptly, leaving the lack of preparation against this type of contingencies. For sector experts, the problem is not only interruption, but what comes later: data loss, safety gaps, access failures and a dangerous window for cyber attacks.
«We cannot avoid the blackouts, but we can control how they affect us. Investing in resilient technological infrastructure is to ensure operational continuity and protect the integrity of systems in an increasingly interconnected and vulnerable environment, ”says Víctor Deutsch, an expert in cybersecurity of Immune Technology Institute.
Services that go out in seconds
In the absence of energy support systems – as generators or industrial batteries – servers and applications stop working immediately, even affecting critical services. From Immune Technology Institute, a center specialized in technological training, they explain that this sudden disconnection can paralyze from hospitals to bank platforms or digital administrations.
These are the key risks for technological infrastructure after a blackout
“Internal battery storage systems, protected cache writing and real -time backups in external locations are today essential to ensure recovery without loss of information,” they point out from the institute.
Invisible risks: loss of data and cyber attacks
One of the most serious side effects of this blackout has been the corruption of data. The backup that were being executed at the time of the cut were interrupted, and many files were incomplete or damaged. Databases and transactions that did not end have put at risk critical information, especially in sectors such as sanitary or financial.
But the danger does not end with the restoration of the service. On the contrary. The restart phase of the systems is especially delicate. “This type of interruptions open a dangerous exposure window: when the systems are restarted without active protection, they become an entrance door for cybercriminals,” they warn from Immune.
Physical Security: Another weak point
Supply fall also affects physical security devices: surveillance cameras, alarms and access control systems can be inoperative without an alternative energy source. This opens the door to unauthorized accesses, sabotages or theft of information in physical facilities.
Having generators dedicated exclusively to keeping perimeter security and access systems operational is, according to experts, a fundamental measure that many organizations have not yet implemented.
Failures in Authentication and Access Control
During the blackout, and especially in the recovery process, many servers responsible for managing permits and accesses failed, generating errors or even improper accesses. A poorly managed restoration can cause users to obtain privileges that do not correspond to them or that gaps occur in identity authentication.
From Immune they insist that “the strict supervision of systems restoration, combined with robust recovery protocols, is vital to avoid internal vulnerabilities after a massive cut such as lived.”
