By now, you’re aware there were three, supposedly unrelated, tech incidents today – at United Airlines, the NYSE, and the Wall Street Journal.

Naturally, when we started learning about the United issue, hacker theories started popping across the Web – and why not?  The truth is, we’re all expecting something to happen.  Then, when the NYSE shut down trading due to a technical issue, conspiracy theorists were in their glory, especially when the WSJ site also went down.

The WSJ site is now back up and running; United Airlines is blaming the grounding of all its flights this morning on a router problem that impacted its reservation system; and the NYSE was down from more than three hours due to technical configuration problems.  None of the issues appear to be related to cyber-attacks, as many had initially been quick to assume.

But, the situations at United Airlines and NYSE, in particular, do underscore the importance of proper care, verification, and security when it comes to infrastructure and software changes.  The impact of misconfigurations or erroneous code is often much further-reaching than anticipated, and the potential for error is something every business and service provider must contend with on a daily basis.  There will be a heavy dose of these scenarios and how to handle them in discussions at ITEXPO Anaheim (October 6-8), not only from a security perspective, but also looking at how to properly handle software migration and upgrades, as well as service continuity for operators and MSPs.

On a lighter note, situations like these also open the door for people to share their wit – now, with the world thanks to social media.  Here are some of the best and most amusing comments relating to #NYSE from Twitter this morning. 

@Polarinski  Russia, China & ISIS walk into a bar...... #NYSE #WSJ #UnitedAirlines

@donnyo  Just on CNN: "Our experts say it's either a hardware issue or a software issue." O RLY??? #NYSE

@rongeigle  Luckily, all of my money is in Greek banks and Chinese stocks. #NYSE

@Crutnacker  Hey #NYSE, try the following workaround: (↑↑↓↓←→←→BA)

@iowahawkblog  The #NYSE should bring in Fonzie to hit their computer

@ABCBeerCo  Maybe the #NYSE going offline is the universe's way of saying you should stop by for a beer...

@connor_medcalf  BREAKING: Authorities Release Photo Of Suspect in #NYSE Crash pic.twitter.com/gkeYfqIrzw 

(There was no shortage of Dark Knight and Jack Bauer references.)

@ABHuret  What would #DonaldTrump do?? #NYSE (I kid, I kid) ; )

@BlutoGrandex  This is what happens when you don't renew your McAfee subscription, Wall Street #NYSE

@userexperienced  This gives a new meaning to Chinese takeout. #NYSE

@Mr_Eric_WSCS  CNBC Drinking game: 1 drink for every "market is fine." 1 shot for "not a cyberattack." 1 keg stand for "buy the halt." #NYSE @CNBC

Hands down, the winner of the most frequently cited answer to the problem:

@hil_brown  Someone should tweet a joke about the NYSE unplugging, waiting a minute, then plugging back in. No one has made that joke yet. #NYSE

@NYImpact414  #NYSE is down? Oh no, how can rich people play with their fake money now????

@LTSRowe  This WH presser about the #glitch is better than a Richard Pryor routine. #NYSE

@ammenozzi  #NYSE closed, #Windows phone on the outs, United grounded and WSJ down. Twitter's having an exciting day!