Defined was a blackout. But was a blackout preceded by a surge? Unknown.
Blackouts do not corrupt any properly designed/assembled hardware. Otherwise power off (that looks to hardware just like a blackout) would also cause hardware damage.
Defined was what sounds like an adjacent (point of connection) protector. Somehow it must 'block' or 'absorb' a surge. How many joules does it claim to 'absorb'? Destructive surges can be hundreds of thousands of joules. Was it hundreds or a thousand joules? Obviously a near zero numbers. But if it is called a surge protector, then most consumers would just know it should be 100% protection.
An adjacent protector can even earth a surge destructively via an adjacent computer. It does not claim to address that anomaly. Due to an adjacent protector. a surge might even bypass superior protection inside that computer's PSU - connect directly to a motherboard. Could that explain BIOS corruption? Maybe. But without more facts (ie how a motherboard mounts to its chassis and other information), then one can only speculate.
We know blackouts are a threat to unsaved data - not to hardware. A UPS provides time for unsaved data to be saved. A UPS in battery backup mode is often 'dirtiest' power. No problem due to superior protection routinely found in every computer's PSU.
Again, assuming a blackout was preceded by a surge. Protection means that surge is not anywhere inside a building. Take a classic example. Lightning strikes utility lines far away down the street. So that surge is incoming to all household appliances - every one. Are all damaged? Of course not. It is electricity. That means both an incoming and an outgoing path to earth must exist.
Which appliances needs that protection? Everyone. A surge earthed before entering means protection for everything. How good?
A typical lightning strike is maybe 20,000 amps. So a minimal 'whole house' protector (with that always so critical low impedance - ie less than 3 meter connection - to earth ground) is 50,000 amps. Protector must never fail on any surge - even direct lightning.
Separate hearsay from reality. Reality comes with numbers - quantitatively. Hearsay recites advertising and myths - qualitatively.
Even that Ikea device, a miracle $300 power conditioner, or UPS need that protection. Again, protection is about where hundreds of thousands of joules are harmlessly absorbed. Described is the only solution always found where transients (ie direct lightning strikes) must never cause damage. This superior and best solution may cost as much as $1 per protected appliance. But the most difficult part is getting a consumer to learn why it works. And why a UPS, Ikea protector, power conditioner, etc do not even claim to protect from that typically destructive anomaly.
Meanwhile, it is possible that the adjacent Ikea made BIOS corruption easier. Because a protector is only as effective as its earth ground. UPS provides time to save unsaved data; does not even claim to protect hardware.