By NewsBlogger A widespread IT outage across various sectors, including healthcare, transportation, banking, and media, was caused by a defective update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, leading to disruptions in operations at major companies like Delta Airlines, Visa, Mastercard, and Amazon, prompting calls for more diversity in operating systems and supply chains to enhance resilience and prevent future incidents.
At a glance
- A massive IT outage has disrupted various sectors.
- Healthcare, transportation, banking, and media have been affected.
- Microsoft Windows devices were impacted.
- Flights were canceled as a result.
- TV stations went offline.
The details
A massive IT outage has disrupted various sectors, including healthcare, transportation, banking, and media. Microsoft Windows devices were impacted, and flights were canceled as a result. TV stations went offline. Operations at major companies like Delta Airlines, Visa, Mastercard, and Amazon were halted.
The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike was linked to a defective update that caused the chaos.
The incident was deemed a mistake, not a deliberate cyberattack. Airports, trains, banks, and the London Stock Exchange experienced interruptions.
Cybersecurity experts have called for more diversity in operating systems and supply chains.
Dr. Harjinder Lallie and Professor Ciaran Martin are among these experts. Dr. Lallie warned against over-reliance on Microsoft. He suggested exploring alternative options to enhance resilience.
Professor Martin identified a misconfigured update by CrowdStrike as the root cause. He stressed the importance of ensuring compatibility between IT systems.
CrowdStrike, a Texas-based company, is valued at $80 billion. The company is known for investigating large-scale cyberattacks. Its stock market performance surged by 118% in the last year.
Despite the outage, CrowdStrike swiftly identified and rectified the issue. Affected organizations were advised to seek updates and support through official channels.
The incident highlights the critical role of cybersecurity in today’s interconnected world. It serves as a reminder of the risks associated with software updates and system vulnerabilities. Companies and institutions are striving to recover from the disruption.
The event underscores the need for robust cybersecurity measures. Proactive risk management strategies are necessary to safeguard against future incidents of this magnitude.
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| independent.co.uk |
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| – Flights have been cancelled and TV stations have been taken offline due to a computer outage – Windows PCs started showing a “blue screen of death” error on Friday – The issue affected many of the world’s biggest companies, including airlines, TV stations, and banks – Cyber security companies found issues across the world – The problem was related to a broken cyber security update – CrowdStrike, a cyber security firm, was blamed for the defective update – The chaos was a result of a mistake, not an intentional cyber attack – The issue only affected Microsoft devices, not Mac or Linux computers – TV stations, airports, trains, and banks were all affected by the outage – Companies like Delta Airlines, Visa, Mastercard, and Amazon experienced issues – Delta, United, and American airlines were grounded in the US – Govia Thameslink Railway in the UK experienced widespread IT issues – The London Stock Exchange suffered disruptions – Hospitals and healthcare organizations were unable to offer usual appointments – Sky News viewers were shown an error message during the outage – CrowdStrike found a fix for the problem and confirmed it was not a cyberattack – The outage coincided with a separate issue at Microsoft 365, which was resolved |
| independent.co.uk |
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| – IT outage affected sectors from NHS to transport, banking, and media – Major disruption could prompt a rethink on resilient operating systems – Cybersecurity expert Dr. Harjinder Lallie described the situation as an IT “catastrophe” – Global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike stated the problem was caused by a defect in a Windows update – Dr. Lallie highlighted over-reliance on Microsoft and CrowdStrike – Issue demonstrated how exposed companies and services can be – Dr. Lallie suggested more diversity in the use of different operating systems – Technology expert Dafydd Vaughan emphasized the need for more competition in supply chains – Professor Ciaran Martin mentioned that a misconfigured update by CrowdStrike caused the issue – Companies usually ensure compatibility between IT systems, but occasionally issues arise |
| independent.co.uk |
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| – CrowdStrike is a company headquartered in Texas known for investigating large scale hacks – |
| The company was worth $80 billion when trading on the Nasdaq closed on Thursday – CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 and immediately caught the interest of investors – It has taken funding from companies including Google and many of Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capital firms – In June 2019, it listed on the Nasdaq at a valuation of $11 billion despite making a loss – CrowdStrike’s stock market performance has surged recently, gaining 118% in the last year – The company is one of the most highly valued and widely used cyber security companies – CrowdStrike was linked to what might be the “largest IT outage in history” caused by a bug in an update it released – The outage affected computers across the world running CrowdStrike’s “Falcon” software – Falcon provides EDR technology that spots attacks on users and requires regular updates and privileged access to devices – A defect in a single content update for Windows hosts caused the widespread issues – CrowdStrike has stated that the issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed – The company recommends organizations to communicate with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels for updates and support. |
