Engineers Australia is urging businesses to assess their systems for weak points amidst the Optus network outage, highlighting the critical issue of cascading risk and its impacts.
Chief Engineer Jane MacMaster says it is crucial to recognise the cascading risk associated with such technology failures.
“When one system fails, it can trigger a domino effect across multiple systems, amplifying negative impacts.”
MacMaster says that as critical infrastructure, including health, education, transport, and more, becomes increasingly interconnected, cascading risk becomes more important.
“Cascading risk can result from various factors, such as extreme weather events, cyberattacks, or geopolitical events.”
“Australia has witnessed several instances of cascading risk in the past, including the 2016 electricity system blackout in South Australia and the recent impact on transport networks and vital services during bushfires.”
