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Crowdstrike has confirmed that a defective software update for Windows caused a global IT outage.
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The Microsoft outage has affected numerous sectors like airlines, hospitals, banks, media outlets, supermarkets, etc.
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Crowdstrike has isolated the issue and deployed a fix, referring customers to check for the latest updates on their support portal.
Crowdstrike, one of the biggest cybersecurity firms in the world, admitted that an error in a software update caused a major IT outage affecting banks, airports, businesses, media outlets, etc.
Reports about the outage began early Friday, with Sky News UK being a victim and being forced off air for several hours.
Travellers have been greatly affected, with airlines cancelling almost 2,700 flights, according to Reuters. Airports are also struggling to handle the system delays and failures.
The outage also affected Microsoft Azure and Office 365 customers. It was hit around 18.00 ET on Thursday or midnight CET on Friday.
The tech giant posted on X (formerly Twitter) that it was ‘investigating the issue affecting users’ ability to access Microsoft 365 apps and services’.
‘Users will continue to see continuous improvement as we steadily address the issue’, the statement added.
Some airlines, such as Qantas in Australia and Frontier and Sun Country in the US, have been forced to ground flights.
Moreover, Ryanair’s website and app users reported difficulties checking in for their flights on Friday morning, with a spike in complaints on Downdetector.com.
The airline posted on X that it was ‘experiencing disruption across the network’ due to a ‘third-party IT outage’.
KLM and other carriers have also notified their customers to expect delays and cancellations because handling services was impossible.
The IT outage affected several airports worldwide, which notified customers to expect delays at check-ins.
Supermarkets in the UK, like Aldi, Waitrose and Morrisons, have reported issues accepting card payments.
Hospitals and pharmacies in the UK were also affected, with reports of difficulties accessing medical records, staff roasters, and other resources. Two German hospitals in Kiel and Luebeck were also forced to cancel non-urgent surgeries.
What caused the IT outage?
George Kurtz released a statement on Friday confirming the outage was caused by a ‘defect’ in a content update for Windows.
‘This is not a security or cyberattack incident as Linux and Mac hosts are not impacted’, Kurtz said. ‘Our team has identified, isolated and deployed a fix’, he added.
George Kurtz
Crowdstrike has asked customers to check its support portals for the latest updates.
Kurtz concluded, ‘Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of Crowdstrick customers’.
