A global technology outage of mysterious causes grounded airlines, disrupted businesses and caused countless issues for computer users Friday.
According to ABC News, the root of the problem lay with CrowdStrike, an Austin, Texas-based cybersecurity company, and a security update it sent to Microsoft Windows.
Users of other systems, such as Mac and Linux, were not affected.
CrowdStrike “confirmed that this is not due to a security incident or cyber attack and say they are are working to correct it,” ABC News reported.
While the problem might have had a single source, its impact was felt around the world.
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The scale of the Microsoft IT outage is huge.#BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/OOmeZNlhCh
— Haggis_UK (@Haggis_UK) July 19, 2024
Mass transit systems in New York and Washington were affected, according to ABC News.
Banks, hospitals and airports in Australia and South Africa also were affected, according to The Associated Press. Athletes and organizers traveling to Paris for the Summer Olympics have been delayed, according to the AP.
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“Global IT outages have also been reported in many countries across the world including Berlin Airport in Germany, the London Stock Exchange, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom,” ABC News reported.
Meanwhile, flights from several major U.S. airlines — including American Airlines, Delta and United — were disrupted. According to USA Today, more than 1,000 flights were canceled or delayed by the outage.
“The aviation sector is hit particularly hard due to its sensitivity to timings. Airlines rely on a closely coordinated schedule often run by air traffic control,” USA Today reported. “Just one delay of a few minutes can throw off a flight schedule for take-offs and landings for an airport and airline for the rest of the day.”
Microsoft outages caused by CrowdStrike software glitch paralyze airlines, other businesses. Here’s what to know. https://t.co/oQ0i1WREBf pic.twitter.com/np2nNK1yTd
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 19, 2024
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz issued a statement on the social media platform X describing the problem as caused by a “defect.”
“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 statement said.
“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”
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…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
CrowdStrike shares were down 15 percent prior to the New York Stock Exchange opening Friday, according to the AP.
