CrowdStrike takes down corporate Windows computers across the world
posted Sunday Jul 21, 2024 by Scott Ertz
In a world increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure, the recent global system failure attributed to CrowdStrike's software update has raised significant concerns about cybersecurity and the robustness of global IT systems. The incident, which primarily affected Windows PCs, has not only highlighted the vulnerabilities inherent in widespread technology but also the interconnected nature of modern software platforms.
What happened with CrowdStrike?
CrowdStrike, a leading cybersecurity firm, experienced a major disruption following a defective software update to its Falcon Sensor product. This defect led to critical boot failures, commonly referred to as the "blue screen of death," across numerous Windows devices worldwide. The issue was not the result of a cyberattack but was instead caused by a flaw within the software update itself.
The repercussions of this failure were immediate and widespread. Industries ranging from banking to airlines faced outages, with services disrupted and, in some cases, TV broadcasters going offline. The travel sector was particularly hard hit, with planes grounded and services delayed, causing travel chaos.
What is notable about CrowdStrike's software is its endpoint security approach, which applies cyber protections to devices connected to the internet, as opposed to back-end server systems. This means that when an update goes awry, it has the potential to affect every machine that has the software installed. In this case, the faulty update impacted a significant number of devices given CrowdStrike's extensive client base, which includes many Fortune 500 companies and various government agencies.
A reminder of infrastructural deficiencies
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of the IT systems that the world relies on. It underscores the need for rigorous testing and backup systems to prevent such widespread disruptions. Moreover, it highlights the importance of swift and transparent communication from companies like CrowdStrike when such incidents occur.
In response to the crisis, CrowdStrike has rolled back the update and is working on a fix to bring systems back online. The company's CEO, George Kurtz, has issued an apology for the disruption and assured that they are working closely with affected clients to resolve the issues.
As businesses and organizations begin to recover, the event will likely prompt a reevaluation of current cybersecurity practices and the implementation of more robust safeguards to protect against similar incidents in the future. The CrowdStrike system failure is a cautionary tale of how a single software update can have far-reaching consequences in our interconnected digital world.
Previous infrastructural meltdowns revisited
This is far from the first time that a faulty update to software has hobbled the nation. AT&T (or companies using that name) have experienced major outages at least twice. In 1990, bad code loaded into the digital switching systems across the country disabled all long distance calling across the nation. In the end, that issue came from code pushed to production without proper testing. Earlier this year, AT&T mobile service went offline again because of a software update issue.
In 2010, computers across the world shutdown, similar to what we experienced this week. The issue was because of a faulty update sent out by another cyber security company - McAfee. The update, known as "DAT" file version 5958, caused Windows XP computers to meltdown just like this week's CrowdStrike collapse. Interestingly, the CTO of McAfee at the time of this mistake was George Kurtz, who is today the founder and CEO of CrowdStrike. This is not necessarily an indicator that Kurtz runs a ship with no rules, but it will likely make corporations think twice about relying on software developed under his tutelage.
