A defective update from U.S. cybersecurity software company CrowdStrike caused a worldwide tech outage on Friday, disrupting operations in various industries. The incident impacted Microsoft Windows systems, resulting in crashes that affected banks, hospitals, 911 call centers, public transit systems, flights, and more. While a fix was deployed to restore most systems, experts warn of potential ripple effects throughout the weekend.
CrowdStrike, used by over half of Fortune 500 companies, identified the issue and isolated it, deploying a fix. CEO George Kurtz apologized for the disruptions and assured that affected customers are being supported to resume services. Microsoft confirmed that the underlying cause has been fixed, and impacted apps and services have been recovered.
The outage led to over 2,000 U.S. flight cancellations, with major airlines grounding flights, and disruptions in public transit systems, including in Washington, D.C., and New York City. London’s Stock Exchange, U.K. train services, and airports worldwide were also affected. A state of emergency was declared in Portland, Oregon, and Maryland increased its activation level over the tech outage.
In response to the incident, U.S. airlines issued travel waivers, and the Department of Transportation classified the cancellations as controllable, ensuring airlines honor commitments to passengers. While the economic impact is currently minimal, prolonged outage could result in economic consequences. Despite the chaos caused by the IT outage, experts believe that recovery is possible as long as the disruption is not prolonged.
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