What Is Crowdstrike? Here's How The Cybersecurity Firm Caused Global Microsoft Outage
CrowdStrike, established in 2011, primarily serves large institutions, government bodies, and critical infrastructure, including airports and financial institutions.
Global Microsoft Outage: Millions of Windows users worldwide are facing significant disruptions as the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error causes systems to shut down or restart unexpectedly. The impact has been substantial, affecting airports, banks, major companies, and even leading to the temporary closure of retail superstores. According to Microsoft, the root cause of this problem is a cybersecurity firm called Crowdstrike.
What Is Crowdstrike?
As mentioned, The issue has been traced back to a recent update from CrowdStrike, a US-based cybersecurity firm. It plays a critical role in protecting high-profile and sensitive organisations.
CrowdStrike, established in 2011, primarily serves large institutions, government bodies, and critical infrastructure, including airports and financial institutions.
The company gained prominence for its involvement in high-profile cyber investigations, such as the 2014 Sony hack by North Korean attackers and the 2016 Democratic Party email breach by Russian operatives.
How Was The Outage Caused?
The malfunction is reportedly linked to CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor, a software designed to safeguard systems from cyber threats.
An update to this software appears to have triggered the BSOD issue, leading to widespread system failures.
'Fix Deployed'
CrowdStrike President & CEO George Kurtz addressed the situation via social media, reassuring customers that the problem has been identified and a fix is in progress. "This is not a security incident or cyberattack," Kurtz stated.
"The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed. We are updating our support portal regularly and will continue to provide updates on our website."
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
As the fix is implemented, it is anticipated that the global reports of BSOD-related outages will decrease. Meanwhile, affected users and organisations are advised to stay tuned for further updates and support through CrowdStrike’s official channels.
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