Imagine a scene from Neuromancer: hackers breaking in, causing chaos with every keystroke. Now, flash back to this Friday. That sci-fi scenario? It’s suddenly not so fictional. A botched software update has just thrown real life into disarray. Planes grounded, emergency lines jammed, and check-in counters swamped with long, snaking lines of frustrated travellers.

The Microsoft outage has disrupted India’s aviation sector. As major airlines like Vistara, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air scramble with systems down, passengers face the brunt-endless lines, delayed flights, and a ticking clock. Even as airports like Delhi and Bengaluru report disruptions in up to 90% of flights, the response has been reactive, not proactive.

Also Read | The ‘Fake’ CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide

This isn’t a plot twist from Mr. Robot, where vigilantes manipulate the digital world for justice or chaos. This is our reality-the infrastructure teetering on the edge because of a glitch. As we stand in overcrowded terminals or seek urgent help to no avail, the dystopian futures of cyberpunk are already knocking on our door.

Who Pays When Software Fails Us?

Think about the price tag of such an outage. Airlines cancel thousands of flights, hospitals delay life-saving procedures, and emergency responders hit a wall. The immediate cost is staggering, sure. But what about the long game? Lost trust, furious customers, and shaken investor confidence can balloon these costs to even more astronomical levels. How many millions – or billions – are we talking about here?

Why aren’t Microsoft or CrowdStrike held to the same stringent standards as those in more traditional sectors? A single faulty brake pad can trigger nationwide recalls in the automotive world. So why does the tech industry get a free pass when their mistakes can shut down our hospitals, ground our planes, and leave us stranded at check-in counters? It’s ridiculous.

Also Read | Airports Clearing Backlog After Global IT Chaos, Centre Shares An Update

When the digital infrastructure crumbles, the fallout is accepted as part of the modern condition. And where’s the backup plan? Our entire digital life hangs by the thread of a few lines of code with no strong fail-safe in sight. Why isn’t there a robust Plan B when Plan A fails so spectacularly? Shouldn’t there be mandatory, iron-clad redundancies for technologies that our lives depend on?

Another tech glitch, and who’s caught in the crossfire? The users, because we’re over-reliant on platforms like Microsoft. They blame CrowdStrike, but that’s not the point. Apple and Linux users dodged the bullet-why aren’t we spreading our risks? It’s high time we break up with single-system dependency.

We need more than apologies when tech systems fail disastrously. It’s time for stringent regulations to hold tech giants like Microsoft and their partners accountable, just as any other sector crucial to public safety and welfare would be.

Our reliance on these platforms is too critical to allow the ‘single-system dependency’ to continue unchecked. Let’s push for diversity in our tech solutions to safeguard our digital – and physical – lives. 

(Pankaj Mishra has been a journalist for over two decades and is the co-founder of FactorDaily.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author