By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Global Services Returning to Normal After Huge IT Outage
Businesses and services around the globe are slowly getting back to normal after a far reaching IT outage disrupted computer systems for hours during Thursday and Friday. It seriously affected businesses, banks, hospitals, and airlines following a faulty software update issued by cyber security company CrowdStrike, affecting Microsoft Windows.
Their CEO, George Kurtz, apologized for the disruption and announced that a fix had been issued, but admitted it could take "some time" before all systems are fully operational again.
Airline services are returning to normal after thousands of flights were canceled, but operators are expecting some delays and cancellations to continue throughout the weekend. Many businesses are now dealing with backlogs and missed orders that could take days to sort. Health services in Britain, Israel, and Germany also faced problems, with some operations being canceled.
What this global chaos has brought to the fore is how vulnerable interdependent technologies can be, how a single glitch in software can affect many. It first emerged at 19:00 GMT on Thursday when many Windows users began running CrowdStrike Falcon cybersecurity software. The extent of the problem became clear Friday morning.
By Friday evening, the situation appeared to be easing in many areas around the world. Many airports reported check in and payment systems still had issues, but most flights were now running. Hong Kong International Airport resumed regular operations, Chinese state media reported.
JP Morgan Chase, the United States' largest bank, is working to restore service to its ATM machines. By the end of the day, fewer problems were shown in the UK on Downdetector, a website that tracks tech issues.
In a post on X, CrowStrike CEO George Kurtz said that the defect was identified "in a single content update for Windows hosts." He apologized profusely for the impact this has caused customers, travelers, and everyone else concerned even his company. He noted that while many customers are rebooting their systems, which are coming back online, some systems may take longer to recover fully.
Microsoft has warned that multiple reboots could be required—a few unlucky users have reported having to reboot as many as 15 times to eventually get things working again. Tech experts also warn CrowdStrike's patch will need to be applied individually to each device affected.
The incident raises questions about CrowdStrike's sway as one of the largest players in the cybersecurity market and whether it's wise for such an important component of the industry to be held in the hands of just a few firms. CrowdStrike shares slid about 12% on Friday, boosting rivals SentinelOne and Palo Alto Networks.
First problems were noticed in Australia, where they were at their worst in the air travel industry. Airports suffered delays, with long queues because flights were canceled or delayed, aircraft grounded, and passengers stranded. Additional staff was brought in to check in passengers manually.
By 18:00 GMT on Friday, Cirium data, which tracks aviation information, indicated that more than 4,000 flights 3.9% of the total had been scrapped, although that figure also includes flights canceled due to other causes. Worldwide payment systems, banking, and healthcare providers were affected. The outage may have a longer term impact because companies are struggling to pay wages, mainly in cases where people are paid weekly.
Some train companies have already given warnings of delays, with reports of passengers in London being stuck on trains, while broadcasters Sky News and ABC Australia suffered blackouts.
