Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm with thousands of customers worldwide, has admitted that a faulty software update caused a major IT outage affecting various sectors globally.
Reports of disruptions started early on Friday, affecting airports, banks, hospitals, media outlets, and businesses. In the UK, broadcaster Sky News was off the air for several hours. Travelers faced delays as airlines canceled flights and airports struggled with system failures.
The outage also impacted Microsoft’s Azure and Office365 services. Microsoft acknowledged the issue on social media and said they were working to resolve it.
Airlines like Qantas in Australia and US carriers Frontier and Sun Country had to ground flights. Ryanair’s app and website also experienced problems, preventing customers from checking in.
UK supermarkets such as Aldi, Morrison’s, and Waitrose reported issues with card payments. Hospitals, pharmacies, and doctors’ surgeries in the UK faced difficulties accessing medical records and staff schedules, and two German hospitals canceled non-urgent surgeries.
George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, confirmed that the problem was due to a defect in a content update for Windows. Mac and Linux systems were not affected, and it was not a security incident or cyberattack. Crowdstrike has deployed a fix and advised customers to check their support portal for updates.
Initial speculation pointed to an antivirus software update causing the issue. Devices became “bricked,” meaning they could not function properly. Airports in Europe, including Berlin Brandenberg and Edinburgh, reported IT issues, causing delays. Zurich Airport in Switzerland even stopped aircraft from landing.
Crowdstrike is working with affected customers to resolve the issue and ensure stability. This incident highlights our reliance on technology and the potential chaos caused by system downtimes.
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