A massive technology outage has disrupted businesses and institutions in multiple countries, affecting airports, airlines, rail companies, government services, banks, stock exchanges, supermarkets, telecoms, health systems, and media outlets.
The disruption was caused by a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which led to crashes of machines running the Microsoft Windows operating system.
Report from London, indicate the issue arose from a mandatory update to CrowdStrike’s software that went awry. The company reported that the problem was linked to its Falcon sensor product, with engineers identifying a “content deployment problem.”
“Essentially, it happens as you’re sitting in front of your terminal. If your terminal is a Microsoft Windows terminal, it suddenly goes to a blank blue screen, known as the ‘blue screen of death’ error. You are locked out of your operating system.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz emphasized that the outage was not a “security or cyber incident.” He issued an apology for the inconvenience and disruption, stating that the company is working with all impacted customers to restore their systems. A fix has already been deployed.
Microsoft confirmed on Friday that the “underlying cause” of the global outage had been resolved, although some residual impacts continued to affect Office 365 apps and services.
The outages had widespread effects, forcing some broadcasters off the air and leaving customers without access to services like healthcare and banking. Transport systems worldwide were among the hardest hit. In the United States, major airlines Delta, United, and American Airlines were grounded due to a communication issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In Australia, flight information screens at Sydney airport went blank, causing delays despite flights continuing to arrive and depart. Airports in the UK, Germany, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines also reported service disruptions.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest hubs, was affected, with a spokesperson stating that it impacted flights to and from Schiphol. All airports in Spain experienced disruptions, as did Air France, although flights already en route were unaffected. In Hong Kong, airlines
switched to manual check-in processes, while Kenya Airways warned of slower service due to the outage.
The financial sector was also impacted, with banks and institutions from Australia to India and South Africa warning clients about service disruptions. Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank, reported that some customers were unable to transfer money. In the UK, the London Stock Exchange experienced a technical glitch affecting its news service and delaying the display of opening trades.
Media companies faced severe disruptions. Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Network Ten confirmed their systems were affected. Sky News in the UK went off air, unable to transmit live.
Government services were hit too. In the UK, medical booking systems went offline. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported impacts on some of its systems, advising users to refrain from transactions until the issue was resolved. In Australia, Victoria’s state police reported internal system issues, although emergency services continued to operate normally. New Zealand’s parliamentary computer systems were also affected.
Amazon’s AWS cloud service provider acknowledged reports of connectivity issues with Windows EC2 instances and Workspaces within AWS.
Despite the chaos, some systems began to return to normal, including Sky News in the UK and South African lenders Capitec Bank and Absa. Airlink, an airline, also restored its services.
Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator confirmed the large-scale technical outage, emphasizing that it was not a cyber security incident but a technical issue with a third-party software platform. France’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI and a UK government security source both confirmed there was no evidence suggesting the outage was a result of a cyberattack.
As businesses and services work to recover, the global impact of this outage underscores the critical importance of reliable and secure software updates in our increasingly interconnected world.
By Alizelavie 07/19/2024 and News Agencies
