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A recent update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has caused a major global IT outage, affecting numerous businesses and organizations, including airlines, banks, retailers, and more. This widespread disruption, which began on July 19, 2024, led to Windows “blue screen of death” errors across various sectors, severely impacting the travel industry.
CrowdStrike’s CEO, George Kurtz, confirmed in a post on X that the outage was due to a “defect” in a content update for Windows hosts and assured that it was not a result of a cyberattack. Kurtz stated that a fix is being rolled out and clarified that Mac and Linux hosts are unaffected.
“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted,” Kurtz noted on X. “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.”
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) noted that while the outage was not linked to any suspicious activity, threat actors are taking advantage of the situation for phishing and other malicious activities.
CrowdStrike’s support forums acknowledged the issue early on July 19, explaining that the crash reports were related to the Falcon Sensor, a cloud-based security service providing real-time threat detection. A moderator on the CrowdStrike subreddit also confirmed the widespread reports of blue screen errors on Windows devices and stated that the company was investigating the cause.
Microsoft reported problems starting in the early hours of July 19 and has since noted that while Microsoft 365 for consumers is back up, enterprise applications are still experiencing disruptions. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the issue was due to a third-party software update and stated that they anticipate a resolution soon.
The outage has raised significant questions about the resilience of cloud services and how a single update could cause such widespread disruption. Goldman Sachs analysts highlighted the critical need for high reliability and security in cybersecurity products due to their mission-critical nature.
Airlines and airports across multiple countries, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, reported problems with check-in and ticketing systems, leading to flight delays and chaos at airports. U.S. federal airspace officials announced a nationwide ground stop due to the outages, and other sectors, such as banking services and healthcare systems, were also affected.
In the UK, the London Stock Exchange experienced disruptions, and several doctors’ offices reported issues with the National Health Service’s clinical computer system. In the U.S., some 911 and non-emergency call centers faced problems. News organizations and broadcasters worldwide, including Sky News in the UK and several Indian news channels, also reported issues.
CrowdStrike’s shares dropped by around 11% following the incident, closing with a market cap of $74.2 billion. The company, which serves nearly 60% of Fortune 500 companies, is under scrutiny as it works to address the fallout from the faulty update.
As the situation evolves, businesses and experts are closely monitoring the response and looking for lessons to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
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