The USB stick hints at a big problem in our trade though: how do you "reboot" your IT infrastructure if it literally burns to the ground? I'm not talking about Google-scale systems (which still couldn't restart from scratch IIUC but they're actually working on it?) but only about SMEs.

How does a medium-sized SME were all the payrolls depends on Sara and her USB stick do if, literally, their servers do catch fire.

You've got backups, then what? How automated is the reinstallation of your typical SME's infra?

The closest I saw to that scenario was some documentary where some little trading firm had just time to fetch the backup hard drives before leaving the building on fire after a plane crashed into it on 9/11. The CEO (I think it was the CEO) was explaining that had he not grabbed a HDD with the backups, the company was done (not that I advice onsite/offline backups on HDDs that you must not forget to grab when the shit hits the fan as a solution btw).

I understand the "just drink the cloud kool-aid" angle: but are SMEs typically doing that?

How many SMEs out there are depending on Sara's knowledge of the USB memory stick and how to use it?

I've definitely seen similar things. And I'm sure many of you did too.

Many houses of cards?

> How does a medium-sized SME were all the payrolls depends on Sara and her USB stick do if, literally, their servers do catch fire.

The SpecOps guys have the following bit of wisdom on offer: "Two is one and one is none".