What is "force majeure" in the context of information security threats?

Force majeure refers to extraordinary, unforeseeable events beyond human control — natural disasters, fire, water damage, or civil unrest.

Examples include:

• Natural disasters — storms, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions
• Fire and water damage — can destroy physical infrastructure and data
• Civil unrest, hostage situations, war — disrupting operations entirely

Why it matters: Force majeure events can't be prevented, but their impact can be mitigated through:

• Business continuity planning (BCP) — How to keep operating during a disaster
• Disaster recovery (DR) — How to restore systems and data afterward
• Geographic redundancy — Backup sites in different locations
• Offsite backups — Data stored away from the primary site

Tip: Force majeure is the category people plan for last but regret most. The 2010 Australian floods destroyed physical infrastructure across entire regions.

Go deeper:

• Business continuity planning (Wikipedia EN) — how organisations keep running through and recover after disasters they can't prevent.