This past weekend, travellers at Heathrow and airports across Europe were met with long queues, manual check-in desks, and cancelled flights. The cause? A cyber-related incident targeting Collins Aerospace, whose MUSE system underpins check-in and baggage processes for multiple airlines.
While Heathrow has since confirmed the majority of flights are running, disruption spread far and wide. For Intergence, the incident is a textbook case study in why cyber resilience must extend beyond your own firewall.
Key Lessons from Heathrow
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Third-Party Dependency is a Double-Edged Sword
Digital ecosystems have streamlined aviation, but reliance on a single provider’s software created a bottleneck. When that provider was compromised, multiple airports across Europe felt the impact. -
Supply Chain Security is Business-Critical
Just as organisations audit physical supply chains, digital supply chains require the same scrutiny. Are your suppliers secure? Do they have incident response strategies? How often are they tested? -
Manual Fallbacks Are Not Enough
Airports have contingency plans – reverting to paper and manual processes – but these can’t fully absorb the pressure. True resilience means architecting IT systems that can adapt, not just survive. -
Resilience is a Journey, Not a Checkbox
Cybersecurity frameworks and audits are necessary, but insufficient on their own. What matters is ongoing optimisation, visibility, and the ability to pivot under pressure.
How Intergence Helps
At Intergence, we specialise in:
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IT Optimisation – building smarter, more efficient infrastructures that reduce risks and dependencies
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Cyber Resilience – aligning cybersecurity with business continuity, so systems can withstand disruption
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Digital Transformation – helping organisations re-think how technology is used, ensuring adaptability and competitive advantage
The Heathrow incident shows that disruption is inevitable but being unprepared is not. Organisations that proactively manage risk, optimise digital supply chains, and design for resilience will thrive even in the face of adversity.
Final Thought
Cyber resilience is no longer just an IT issue, it’s a business imperative. The lesson from Heathrow is clear: your organisation’s resilience is only as strong as the weakest link in your digital ecosystem.
If you are worried about how secure your organisation is, we are offering a free cyber security assessment and infrastructure audit where we can assess if you have any security vulnerabilities and give actionable recommendations. Sign up here.
Please do find more information on our cyber security managed services here, as well as information on our digital transformation services here.