In the world of tech, things always go to plan… until they don’t. From minor glitches to catastrophic crashes, IT failures can disrupt businesses, damage reputations and sometimes, in the worst instances, put lives at risk. At Edmondson’s, we’re all about keeping things running smoothly, but we also know there’re lessons to be learned from past disasters. So, with that in mind, here’s a look back at some of the most infamous tech fails in history and what they can teach us in future.

The NHS’s WannaCry Attack (2017)

One of the most significant cyber attacks in recent memory hit the NHS in May 2017. The ransomware known as WannaCry spread across 150 countries, but particularly spread havoc in the UK. The virus locked out users, demanded payments for re-entry, disrupting services throughout hospitals, GP surgeries and trusts nationwide. Appointments were cancelled, ambulances were diverted and critical data became inaccessible.

So what went wrong? Many NHS systems were running outdated versions of Windows without essential security updates. The lack of patching and proactive monitoring left the door wide open. The incident highlighted the importance of keeping software updated and the value of proactive IT management.

The Millennium Bug Panic (Y2K)

Heading into the year 2000, the world braced for digital disaster. In the early days of computers, to save space in the limited storage available, most systems stored dates as just the last two digits, meaning the year 2000, shown as 00, could be misread by computers as 1900. The fear was that this glitch would crash computers globally, making them think time had reset by a hundred years, affecting everything from banking to air traffic control.

Governments and businesses spent billions preparing for the worst. While large-scale failures were largely avoided, it wasn’t for nothing. The panic showed how deeply tech is woven into modern life and how important forward planning, risk assessments and clear documentation are in IT infrastructure.

Knight Capital's £400m Mistake (2012)

Knight Capital, a US financial firm, lost a staggering $440 million ($612m/£459m in today's money) in just 45 minutes due to a software glitch in its trading algorithms. A simple code deployment error caused the system to execute millions of trades in error. The faulty code triggered a flood of orders to the New York Stock Exchange, which were not subject to volume caps, leading to a rapid and unwanted accumulation of positions. By the time it was caught, the damage was already done and the firm never recovered.

This kind of error serves as a stark reminder of the risks that come with poor change management. Updates, patches and new deployments need robust testing and a solid rollback plan. Whether you're updating an internal database or deploying a new VoIP system, change control should never be an afterthought.

The Facebook Outage (2021)

In October 2021, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp went dark for more than six hours. For billions of users, these platforms simply vanished. The issue? A flawed update to Facebook’s backbone routers disconnected the company’s data centres from the internet. It also locked engineers out of the very systems they needed to fix the problem.

The disruption affected businesses, communication tools and even smart devices. It highlighted the risks of centralisation and the need for layered access controls and off-network contingency plans. It also reminded us that even tech giants aren’t immune to human error and misconfigurations.

TSB's Botched IT Migration (2018)

In 2018, TSB’s attempt to migrate customer data from its previous parent company, to a new platform went badly wrong. Customers were locked out of their accounts, saw incorrect balances and in some cases could view other people's data. The issues went on for weeks and the fallout was huge, with compensation costs and reputational damage taking years to repair.

This case is a perfect example of why system migrations need careful planning, realistic timelines and expert oversight. At Edmondson’s, we’ve helped many businesses transition from legacy systems to new structures without disruption; It’s all about preparation, testing and communication.

What We Can Learn

These high-profile failures show us that IT isn’t just about software and servers, it’s about people, processes and planning. The good news is, most of these issues were preventable with better monitoring, regular updates, proper backups and clear incident response strategies.

For small and medium-sized businesses, these lessons are just as important. You might not be dealing with billions in trades or global platforms, but downtime, data loss and cyber breaches can still hit hard. That’s why we offer services like regular IT health checks, proactive maintenance, cloud backup solutions and tailored disaster recovery planning.

Don’t Let History Repeat Itself

Tech failures might be part of the digital age, but they don’t have to be part of your business future. With the right support and systems in place, you can avoid being the next IT horror story.

If you're worried about your current setup or just want peace of mind, give us a call. Our team is here to help keep your systems running securely, smoothly and smartly, no nightmares included.