The Resumption Test

A company has been down for thirty-six hours. The incident is over, nobody knows who was behind it, and the ministry isn’t answering. Does it restart, and who decides?

In a hybrid campaign the all-clear may never come, because the threat doesn’t end and because the state gives its information, protection and priority to the military first. A crisis simulation at MIT in 2025 showed companies stopping operations not because anyone told them to, but because stopping was the only decision they could take alone. This episode sets out a five-question test for whether an organisation can restart under threat, and runs it on a real case: how Finnair, Estonia’s air navigation service and the city of Tartu got flights back in five weeks while the GPS jamming continued. With the four parts of a resumption decision, and what to listen for the next time a company says it will be back “once it’s safe”.

Sources: Lin-Greenberg, Harris and Cebul, “Corporations in the Crosshairs”, Simulation & Gaming, 2026; Finnair statements of 29 April and 16 May 2024; Estonian Air Navigation Services, 16 May and 1 June 2024; Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 8 May 2024.

Music: Edvard Grieg, Holberg Suite, Op. 40, Prelude. Performed by the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Sarah-Grace Williams. Licensed under CC BY 4.0, via IMSLP. Excerpt.