A widespread outage on 18 July 2024 brought millions of users as well as businesses across the world to their knees. While Microsoft systems took the blame game, the culprit wasn't a Microsoft product itself, but a faulty update from a third-party cybersecurity company- CrowdStike. Here is what you have to know about this event.
Source: The New York Times
Who Was Responsible? CrowdStrike's Faulty Update
Last Friday, CrowdStrike released a routine software update for its Falcon Sensor antivirus product. Unfortunately, this update contained a bug that triggered a series of issues on Windows machines.
The Founder and CEO of CrowdStrike George Kurtz has released a statement saying, ”I want to sincerely apologize directly to all of you for the outage. All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation. We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority.”
“The outage was caused by a defect found in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This was not a cyberattack.”
What Caused the Problem? A Bug Gone Bad
Within the Falcon Sensor, a faulty CrowdStrike update led to an error in the Windows systems, causing it to crash. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), shows when the operating system fails and displays a blue screen with white text indicating various error messages.
The BSOD usually indicates serious problems that make the operating system unable to work properly. It so happened that in this case, the disruption caused by the CrowdStrike bug within Falcon Sensor affected the relationship between Windows and Falcon Sensor leading to instability and crashing of Windows systems in an enterprise setting without affecting Linux and Mac OS and individual users.
In this instance, the CrowdStrike bug disrupted the way Windows interacted with the Falcon Sensor, leading to system instability and crashes. With millions of computers running both Windows and Falcon Sensor, the impact snowballed into a global outage.
Airports Grounded
The impact of the outage was most felt in the air travel industry. A lot of the airlines depend on Microsoft software for their flight schedules, check-in systems, and communication with air traffic control. The airlines could not manage flights anymore. Many departures were delayed or canceled hence leaving travelers stuck at the airport. Airlines had to process their passengers’ data manually since they could not access check-in systems which resulted in long waiting lines as well as a lot of stress among those traveling.
While the Microsoft outage caused significant disruptions in various sectors, the impact on the banking industry wasn't as critical as feared.
Source: Firstpost
Hospitals Hampered
The healthcare sector is another area where the outage had a significant impact. Hospitals heavily depend on Microsoft software for patient record management, communication with staff, and scheduling medical procedures. Here's how the outage affected healthcare:
Penn Medicine said that “access to patient records and communication between doctors and nurses were hampered, potentially delaying critical treatments. Appointments and procedures had to be rescheduled or postponed.”
Offices Brought to a Standstill
Countless businesses worldwide use Microsoft products like Office 365 and Teams for email communication, document collaboration, and internal communication. Businesses struggled to communicate internally and with clients due to email and collaboration platforms being down.
The Blue Screen of Death
The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is an indicator of serious system errors that have caused the computer to stop working and go back to its start-up.
Early versions of Windows error screens had blue backgrounds and that is how the term “Blue Screen of Death” came about. With the passage of time and changes to the color scheme, the name remained because it has become synonymous with system crashes and loss of data. The BSOD was a result of a mismatched CrowdStrike update which was not functioning well with Microsoft’s Windows operating system platforms.
Source: The Economic Times
Microsoft's Response
- Microsoft found itself under immense pressure to fix the situation. The company acted quickly by teaming up with CrowdStrike to identify the bug and come up with a remedy. This partnership was vital to find a resolution.
- Microsoft issued technical documents and scripts to assist users and IT experts in diagnosing the problem and restoring compromised systems without difficulty.
- Through service status dashboards and blog posts, Microsoft maintained regular communication, updating users on the progress being made and providing help resources.
Final Words
This recent Microsoft outage served as a wake-up call. In our world, all aspects are interconnected, and a slight technological problem can cause major disruptions. But there’s always a silver lining! This event triggered crucial discussions on cooperation among tech firms, clear communication during system crashes, and the necessity for strong backup systems. Let us pray that we have taken valuable lessons from this technological disaster that can make us stronger and more prepared for the future!
Were you or anyone you know was a victim of this nightmare? Let us know in the comments below. If you’ve any burning thoughts or opinions please feel free to reach out to larra@globalindiannetwork.com
