Being Prepared for Disasters Isn't War Rhetoric—It's Common Sense

On April 28, 2025, the Iberian Peninsula was hit by a massive power outage. While power outages aren't unusual, this one made global headlines due to its unprecedented scale: all of Spain, much of Portugal, and parts of France and Andorra lost power. Sixty million people were affected. Train stations, airports, and government buildings were forced to shut down. A blackout of this magnitude has never been seen before in Europe.

According to World Population Review, which tracks major power outages worldwide, Western Europe rarely experiences them. Yesterday's outage ranked 13th in history, with all larger incidents occurring in Asia or South America. Clearly, this was a major event.

The exact cause remains unclear. Initial reports suggest a severe atmospheric imbalance in temperature, triggering a cascade of technical failures. While various government agencies have stated there's no evidence of a cyberattack, Spain's security services held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. And truthfully, even if signs pointed to a cyberattack, it's unlikely this would be disclosed immediately—both to avoid public panic and to buy time for investigators to trace and secure evidence. The International Energy Agency (IEA) had already flagged cybersecurity as one of the main risks to Spain's electricity system, noting in a report: "Cybersecurity is one of the main risks that TSO identifies as threatening the Spanish electricity system, and is part of the REE operational risk."

We'll likely learn more in the coming weeks, so speculation at this point is unproductive.

However, this outage does open the door to a crucial discussion. In recent months, political leaders—including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte—have urged citizens to prepare for emergencies. In his major speech last December, Rutte even used the word "war." Citizens are being advised to keep at least a three-day emergency supply kit at home, including cash.

But what about businesses and organizations? What does a power outage of this scale mean for them? In my view, this hasn't been discussed nearly enough. Companies rely heavily on electricity for everything from IT systems and machinery to communications and security. While continuity is a topic in ISO certifications and part of the NIS2 directive, it's often treated as a paperwork exercise rather than a practical concern. Data centers rigorously test their contingency plans, even cutting power temporarily to ensure backup systems function properly. But when was the last time your organization did something similar?

It's time for every CTO and CIO to use this week's event as a wake-up call. How would your business cope under similar conditions? What are your fallback strategies to prevent data loss? Most businesses today rely on fiber-optic internet. But during a power outage, even if the data center stays online thanks to backup generators, what happens if your own router shuts down or your connectivity provider's infrastructure fails? You lose access. A good solution might be installing a 5G or satellite connection as a backup and ensuring that the necessary hardware is connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The same goes for local servers critical to your operations.