Cllr Paul Donovan on learning from global IT outage

Fortunately, the problems caused were overcome but things could have been far worse.

The outage was likened to a Covid-style phenomenon, at one point, in terms of its potential impact.

These types of problems in the increasingly automated world are becoming more commonplace. Hospitals were recently hit by a cyber attack.

The movement of most activities to online has been going on apace over recent years. Service providers seem keen to make the move to save money and cut staff. Users like the convenience.

There are though many who are not happy with the dash to doing everything virtually. Some don't want to pay bills online. Many want to use cash and not plastic - the recent outage stopped some cards working - a boost no doubt for the cash economy.

Paul Donovan says that many people still want to use cash

The rush to automation means it is more and more difficult to speak to a human being. It seems a deliberate policy by some companies to restrict access. It is surprising how difficult it is now to even find a telephone number for many services.

Some providing public services seem content to hide behind higher and higher technological barriers. 

All of this can make life more difficult, not easy for people. Anxiety levels are raised by these experiences and mental health suffers. 

It is often said that older people are particularly affected by the rush to make everything digital.

But the growing concerns about where we are heading is an intergenerational thing.

The recent technological problems are a warning of further difficulties ahead. If the whole infrastructure on which humanity depends is held in these technologies, what happens if a nuclear-style cyber attack manages to seriously damage or disable the whole lot?

Lessons need to be learned.

This is not to say that online services have not been beneficial or should stop. Just take a breath and reassess. It is better to be safe than crash over the cliff driven by the market forces-orientated bottom line obsession.

People can also make individual stands, like using cash, going to human-staffed checkouts at supermarkets, using companies that do provide a face-to-face service and making opinions known to policymakers. 

Change is happening, it is just a case of how quickly it moves. Change is not always for the better.

People certainly need to take back control, otherwise we are all heading into a very insecure, potentially devastating world.

• Paul Donovan is Labour councillor for Wanstead Village ward, Redbridge Council and a blogger (paulfdonovan.blogspot.com).