A massive Microsoft Windows operating system crash (blue screen of death) has hit several companies around the world, including airlines, broadcasters and others. The problem was caused by a faulty update from security giant CrowdStrike that forced PCs and servers into an unrecoverable boot loop. The change has now been reversed and airlines and hospitals were gradually recovering by midday in the US, but many machines are still affected.
“We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring across multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike wrote in a Pinned post on Reddit“We have identified a content deployment related to this issue and have reverted those changes.” The company went on to describe a workaround, which involves starting Windows in safe mode and removing a specific driver. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz x.com/todayshow/status/1814266372882391523″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:apologized;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:2;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>He apologized by the global collapse in the Today show (tech-outage” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:via;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:3;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>through The New York Times), saying: “We deeply regret the impact we have caused.”
The problem forced Delta, Frontier and other airlines to suspend flights, and affected British broadcaster Sky and the London Stock Exchange. In a Reddit thread, dozens of commenters claimed their carriers were effectively out of service because of the problem. Flight-tracking service FlightAware reported mid-afternoon that more than 2,500 U.S. flights had been canceled on Friday. They were gradually restored as the day progressed, but restoration was far from complete.
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A 12-hour time lapse of American Airlines, Delta and United aircraft traffic following what was likely the largest IT disruption in history, which forced all three airlines to ground flights nationwide. twitter.com/wwcQeiEtVe;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “>image.twitter.com/wwcQeiEtVe
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) twitter.com/US_Stormwatch/status/1814268813879206397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:July 19, 2024;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “>July 19, 2024
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg x.com/SecretaryPete/status/1814342911535816973″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:told;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:4;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>said Airlines said Friday they would have to handle the situation as if it were a self-inflicted (mechanical or technical) failure, requiring them to cover the costs of food, transportation and lodging for travelers whose delays last more than three hours. Earlier in the day, United Airlines and Delta had x.com/united/status/1814282225908953172″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:told;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:5;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>said Airline passengers who were stranded would have to foot the bills themselves, as CrowdStrike’s collapse was beyond their control. A United spokesperson later reversed its previous stance after Buttigieg’s comments.
IT professionals around the world struggled to adapt to the nearly impossible situation they were faced with.
“Even if (CrowdStrike) fixed the issue causing the BSOD, I'm wondering how we're going to restore the thousands of devices that won't boot,” one user noted. “Let me explain to someone who's not tech savvy and works from home how to boot their machine into safe mode,” another wrote.
Reddit users, including many IT admins from Australia, Malaysia, Japan, India, the Czech Republic and elsewhere, have said they are battling the problem. “Here in the Philippines, specifically at my employer, it's like Thanos snapped his fingers. Half of the entire organization is down due to a BSOD loop. It started at 2pm and is still going on. What a Friday!” said one.
US court systems were also affected, with cases scheduled for the day. tech-outage#courts-close-nationwide-and-harvey-weinsteins-case-is-delayed” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:postponed;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:6;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>postponed (including the latest trial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.) Many hospitals reportedly postponed surgeries that required anesthesia, and some were unable to reschedule because their scheduling software was also down.
CrowdStrike is a US-based security company that provides real-time protection against security threats to businesses. One of its key products is Falcon, which the company describes as a system that “delivers real-time attack indicators, hyper-accurate detection, and automated protection” against threats. A CrowdStrike spokesperson said the incident was likely due to an issue with Falcon.
To add insult to injury, Microsoft appears to have also suffered a separate outage across its Azure services and Microsoft 365 suite of apps. “Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services,” it said. wroteIt's unclear which, if any, of the outages are related to this issue rather than the CrowdStrike one.
Updated July 19, 2024 6:12 am ET:CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has twitter.com/George_Kurtz/status/1814235001745027317″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:acknowledged the problem on x;cpos:8;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “>recognized the problem in xsaying it was caused by a flaw in a content update for Windows hosts, and not a “security incident or cyberattack,” adding that “the issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.” There is no mention of whether the fix will be usable on machines that are currently stuck in a boot loop.
Mac and Linux hosts are not affected, it added. An identical statement has been posted on CrowdStrike Blog.
Update, July 19, 2024, 3:46 p.m. ET:This story has been updated to add updates on flights, hospitals, court cases and an apology from CrowdStrike's CEO.
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