The global outage on Microsoft and Windows systems appears to be out of control , affecting services and businesses around the world.
Computer security company CrowdStrike is linked to a major IT outage affecting banks, airports, supermarkets and businesses across Australia and the world.
Cyber expert Katherine Manstead says in an interview with ABC in Australia, which has been affected more than any other country, that the Crowdstrike outage could be the largest electronic systems collapse in human history.
The collapse is causing more problems in countries where Crowdstrike was a leader in providing cybersecurity services.
CrowdStrike update caused chaos
The problem was caused by a faulty security update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike, which disabled affected computers and servers, forcing them to constantly reboot.
Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz said in a statement:
"Crowdstrike is actively working with customers affected by an issue causing disruptions that was identified in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux computers are not affected.".
This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.
We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide full and ongoing updates on our website. We also recommend that organizations ensure they communicate with Crowdstrike representatives through official channels.
Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the safety and stability of Crowdstrike customers.”.
CrowdStrike is widely used by many businesses worldwide to manage the security of Windows computers and servers.
CrowdStrike told NBC that it is now in the process of rolling back the update that caused the problem.
What is the "blue screen of death"?
The Blue Screen of Death that appeared today on millions of computers around the world, rendering them inoperable, is a critical error screen displayed by Microsoft Windows operating systems that are experiencing an outage, as well as ReactOS.
It is also known as a BSoD, blue screen error, blue screen, fatal error, or error check, and indicates a system crash, in which the operating system reaches a critical state where it can no longer operate safely and is forced to shut down to prevent damage.
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Possible issues that can cause a BSoD include hardware failures, a problem with or without a device driver, an unexpected termination of a critical process, or a cyberattack.
How the "blackout" started
Users in Australia began reporting problems early Friday afternoon, saying they were locked out of their workstations. Australian banking apps and supermarket systems were also affected. Australian broadcasters the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News confirmed they were experiencing transmission difficulties as a result.
Then one after another airports informed customers that they were experiencing problems with check-in procedures.
Which airports are having problems?
Heathrow Airport said flights were "operational" but the airport was "experiencing delays".
London Gatwick has warned that passengers may face delays, but passengers should arrive at their scheduled check-in time.
Luton Airport said a global IT outage is affecting some airlines and operations are continuing with manual systems.
London Stansted Airport said some airline check-in services were being carried out manually as a result of the IT outage, but "flights are still operating as normal.".
A Manchester Airport spokesman said: "The international IT outage has affected ground services for some airlines – particularly those using Swissport. Some processes, such as check-in and boarding, are taking longer than usual for the affected airlines.".
Edinburgh Airport said the IT outage was causing longer waiting times.
In the rest of the world
Spanish airports report technical errors and delays.
A Sky News correspondent in Asia says local media are reporting "chaos" at Hong Kong airport.
Virgin Airlines also reported problems.
Australian airports are also affected.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport posted a message saying there were delays in check-in "due to a technical fault.".
Amsterdam's Schipol airport, one of the busiest in Europe, says the computer failure is impacting flights to and from Schipol.
Budapest Airport in Hungary is also reportedly experiencing problems.
Delays have also been reported in Japan and India. In New Delhi, departure boards are now handwritten and flights and departure gates are written in… marker.
Many stores in Britain also cannot accept POS payments.
Also, the British NHS system has collapsed and for this reason doctors are prescribing handwritten prescriptions. Problems also on Malaysian railways and at airports in Singapore.
What Microsoft says
"We are committed to addressing this incident with urgency and the highest priority, while we continue to address the lingering impact for Microsoft 365 applications that are in a degraded state," the company said.
"Our services continue to see continuous improvements, while we continue to take mitigation measures," he added.
For its part, Crowdstrike states in its pre-recorded message that it is aware of reports of outages in Microsoft's Windows operating system linked to the Falcon sensor.
Source: Document
