WCPO: Computer system failure being investigated, thousands of flights canceled, delayed

The mass air grounding of thousands of flights turned out to be caused by human error, a failure to load the right file to a computer system, but until that information came to light the possibility of a cyber-attack was also at top of mind.

“This will pop up either because of malicious actors or because this is the nature of what we deal with,” UC cyber security expert Gregory Winger told Local 12 before the investigation was completed.

Regardless of the reason, he said: "The questions of glitches, updates, mishaps things going temporarily wrong. That’s the cost of doing business in a digital society.”

Over 4700 flights cancelled thousands of delays show how vulnerable our society is to mass disruption when technology fails or is sabotaged, which is why UC has programs dedicated to information technology (IT) and cyber-security. 

Gregory Winger, is an ssistant professor in UC's School of Public and Inernational Affairs (SPIA) who specializes in cybersecurity, U.S. foreign policy, and security studies. His reasearch examines security cooperation and in particular how collaborative activities, like defense diplomacy, have been used to facility cooperation on emerging security issues. 

Watch the interview with Winger. 

Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.