Windows users around the world are facing a major disruption following a faulty update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.
The issue, linked to Crowdstrike’s Falcon sensor, is causing Windows machines to crash with blue screen errors and become stuck in a recovery loop.
This widespread outage has impacted businesses and even critical infrastructure. Reports indicate disruptions at airports, hindering check-in processes for airlines.
Crowdstrike has acknowledged the problem and assures users their engineers are working on a fix. However, the timeframe for a resolution remains unclear, leaving many Windows users and businesses in limbo.
Microsoft Global Outage Crowdstrike: All the latest news from the global Windows outage
Investing Abroad Latest: Microsoft Windows users worldwide are experiencing significant disruption due to a faulty update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. The share prices of Microsoft and CrowdStrike have been trending lower in pre-market trade on Friday.
Read More: Microsoft Outage: CrowdStrike share price tanks 11% in today’s Wall Street trade
CrowdStrike President & CEO CrowdStrike George Kurtz said, “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has released a ‘critical’ advisory in the wake of a global outage affecting Microsoft Windows operating systems. The advisory, designated CIAD-2024-0035, addresses the widespread issue of systems encountering the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).
Read more: CERT-In issues critical fix for global Microsoft Windows outage triggering BSOD
Vistara posted the following update on X:
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the government is in touch with Microsoft to address the global outage. The minister also mentioned that the cause of the outage has been “identified,” and updates have been released to rectify the issue.
https://twitter.com/AshwiniVaishnaw/status/1814222708244414679
Omer Grossman, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at CyberArk said, “The current event appears – even in July – that it will be one of the most significant cyber issues of 2024. The damage to business processes at the global level is dramatic. The glitch is due to a software update of CrowdStrike’s EDR product. This is a product that runs with high privileges that protects endpoints. A malfunction in this can, as we are seeing in the current incident, cause the operating system to crash.
There are two main issues on the agenda: The first is how customers get back online and regain continuity of business processes. It turns out that because the endpoints have crashed – the Blue Screen of Death – they cannot be updated remotely and this the problem must be solved manually, endpoint by endpoint. This is expected to be a process that will take days.
The second is around what caused the malfunction. The range of possibilities ranges from human error – for instance a developer who downloaded an update without sufficient quality control – to the complex and intriguing scenario of a deep cyberattack, prepared ahead of time and involving an attacker activating a “doomsday command” or “kill switch”. CrowdStrike’s analysis and updates in the coming days will be of the utmost interest.”
“We are currently experiencing technical challenges with our service provider, affecting online services including booking, check-in, and manage booking functionalities. As a result, we have activated manual check-in and boarding processes across airports. We kindly request passengers with upcoming travel plans to arrive at the airport earlier than usual to complete check-in at our counters. We sincerely regret for any inconvenience this may cause and assure you that our teams are diligently working with our service provider to resolve these issues promptly. Thank you for your patience and co-operation during this time,” SpiceJet posted on X.
“We’re investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services. More info posted in the admin center under MO821132 and on,” Microsoft posted on X.
https://twitter.com/MSFT365Status/status/1814083047953760414
The outage is also causing disruptions for businesses that rely on crucial services like PowerBI, Teams, and the admin center. The issue, acknowledged by Microsoft, is causing problems beyond the initial reports of Windows crashes. While the exact cause remains unclear, Microsoft is rerouting traffic to minimise disruption. Some services, including Defender for security and OneDrive for cloud storage, are showing signs of partial recovery. However, essential tools for communication and collaboration like Teams are still affected.
“Due to the global IT issue, some of the services at the Delhi Airport were temporarily impacted. We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimise the inconvenience to our flyers,” the Delhi Airport informed via X.
The glitch has caused widespread disruption in airports across the globe, with Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport among the hardest hit. The check-in systems for major airlines such as IndiGo, Akasa, and SpiceJet have gone down, leading to significant delays and operational challenges. As a result, airlines have been forced to revert to manual check-in processes, a time-consuming method that has not been used on such a large scale in years. Passengers are being urged to arrive at the airport much earlier than usual to accommodate the slower check-in procedures. Airline officials are advising travellers to stay informed about their flight status and prepare for potential delays.
The issue, linked to Crowdstrike’s Falcon sensor, has resulted in Windows machines experiencing blue screen errors and getting stuck in a recovery loop.
Microsoft has pinpointed a configuration change within its Azure cloud platform as the culprit behind yesterday’s widespread disruption to Microsoft 365 services. This change caused a breakdown in communication between storage and computing resources, ultimately leading to connectivity failures. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Engineering, a collaborator with Microsoft, pinpointed the root cause – a specific content deployment. They swiftly reverted these changes, restoring functionality to affected Microsoft 365 services.
