Global Outage: Faulty Microsoft Update Causes Global Disruption
A significant global outage has occurred due to a faulty update in Microsoft Windows, leading to widespread disruptions across multiple industries. The issue, caused by a problematic update from the security firm CrowdStrike, triggered a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on affected PCs and servers, resulting in an unrecoverable boot loop. Although the update has been rolled back, many machines remain non-functional.
CrowdStrike acknowledged the Global Outage issue in a pinned Reddit post, stating, “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions. We identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes.” The company has provided a workaround, which involves booting Windows into Safe Mode and removing a specific driver.
The impact of this outage has been extensive, affecting major airlines like Delta and Frontier, which were forced to ground flights. Additionally, UK broadcaster Sky and the London Stock Exchange experienced significant disruptions. Many users reported their organizations being effectively offline due to the issue. “Even if [CrowdStrike] fixed the issue causing the BSOD, I’m thinking how are we going to restore the thousands of devices that are not booting up,” one user noted on Reddit. Another expressed frustration over explaining technical solutions to non-tech-savvy employees working from home.
IT managers from various countries, including Australia, Malaysia, Japan, India, and the Czech Republic, have been battling through the issue. A Reddit user from the Philippines described the situation: “Here in the Philippines, specifically in my employer, it is like Thanos snapped his fingers. Half of the entire organization [is] down due to BSOD loop. Started at 2pm and is still ongoing. What a Friday.”
CrowdStrike, a US-based security firm, provides real-time protection against security threats. Its key product, Falcon, offers real-time indicators of attack, hyper-accurate detection, and automated protection. A spokesperson for CrowdStrike suggested that Falcon was likely the source of the problem.
Adding to the complications, Microsoft experienced a separate outage affecting its Azure services and Microsoft 365 app suite. The company noted, “Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.” It’s unclear if these outages are connected to the CrowdStrike issue.
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. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
Update: July 19, 2024 6:12 AM ET
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz acknowledged the problem on X, attributing it to a defect in a content update for Windows hosts, not a “security incident or cyberattack.” He assured that “the issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.” However, there was no mention of whether the fix would resolve machines currently stuck in a boot loop. Kurtz confirmed that Mac and Linux hosts were not impacted, and the same statement was echoed on CrowdStrike’s blog. As of now, the company has not issued an apology for the incident.
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