A major global technology outage has caused widespread disruptions grounding flights, affecting major airports, and delaying Olympic delegations. The outage, linked to a defect in a CrowdStrike update to Windows computers, has not been attributed to a cyberattack, according to the cybersecurity firm.
As airports and airlines scramble to manage manual check-ins and flight delays, the global incident highlights the vulnerability of essential services to technological disruptions. CrowdStrike partners with Amazon Web Services and offers products like Falcon for Defender to enhance Microsoft Defender’s capabilities in preventing cyberattacks.
CrowdStrike At a Glance
Founded in 2012 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston, CrowdStrike is known for its advanced cloud-based security technology and its mission to overhaul current security practices. Since listing on the Nasdaq five years ago, CrowdStrike has seen significant financial growth, reporting a 33% revenue increase last quarter and a net profit of $42.8 million. CEO George Kurtz has previously emphasized the company’s commitment to pioneering security solutions, describing the team as visionaries and rebels aiming to fix the broken state of current security measures.
This morning Kurtz reassured that the issue was a technical defect, not a cyberattack, resulting from the company’s deployment of a faulty update to Microsoft Windows systems. CrowdStrike is actively working with affected customers to ensure a swift resolution. Kurtz stated that the issue has been “identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.”
Other Impacts of the Outage
- Airline Disruptions: More than 100 flights were canceled at New York airports, with delays affecting major airlines such as United, Delta, and American.
- 911 Disruptions: Some U.S. states, including Alaska, Virginia, and Iowa, reported 911 disruptions, causing emergency services to implement backup systems.
- Healthcare Systems: Doctor’s offices across the UK experienced disruptions in appointment and patient record systems.
- Banking Services: Banks in South Africa faced service interruptions, with customers unable to use ATMs or bank cards for several hours.
- Stock Exchanges: The London Stock Exchange experienced disruptions in its regulatory news service, although trading was not affected.
- Olympic Preparations: The arrival of Olympic delegations and delivery of uniforms and accreditations in Paris were delayed due to the outage.
- Retail Operations: Starbucks locations encountered operational challenges, affecting their ability to serve customers efficiently.
- Canadian Border Crossings and Healthcare: In Canada, the tech outage caused long delays at border crossings and disrupted hospital operations. Porter Airlines canceled flights, and Air Canada faced minimal impacts.
Crowdstrike says the global IT outage was not caused by a cyberattack – Business Insider
