Businesses, media, airlines, and emergency response systems around the world that use Microsoft 365 apps came to a grinding halt Friday morning due to a technical problem in a software update from global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
The faulty update resulted in Windows computers crashing and showing the “blue screen of death" in what's being called the "largest IT outage in history," according to IT expert Troy Hunt.
Just an important point on this as I’m seeing some misunderstandings: this is not a “Microsoft outage” (disclosure: I don’t work there or speak for them, Regional Directors are totally independent), it’s a CrowdStrike issue impacting Microsoft PCs.
— Troy Hunt (@troyhunt) July 19, 2024
This is basically what we were all worried about with Y2K, except it's actually happened this time ☠️
— Troy Hunt (@troyhunt) July 19, 2024
CHAOS: lines wrapping around the Chicago O’Hare airport
— E (@ElijahSchaffer) July 19, 2024
Self check kiosks with the blue screen of death
Information screens dead
Do not fly today if you can avoid it - not looking great here on the ground pic.twitter.com/McLGJBDmZL
BREAKING: Global tech outage hits companies around the world.
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) July 19, 2024
Television channels, airports and banks around the world have been knocked offline in a massive outage causing Windows computers to suddenly shut down.
Cyber security engineers pointed to a problem with Crowdstrike,… pic.twitter.com/pe5v7Fw6gq
OUTAGES
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) July 19, 2024
- Biggest IT outage ever according to experts
- Major banks, media, airports and airlines affected by major IT outage
- Rail services disrupted in parts of US and UK
- Payment systems impacted in different parts of the world, including Australia and the UK.
-…
"CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts," CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said on X Friday morning. "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 refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers."
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
Microsoft said the issue was resolved but "residual impact is continuing."
The underlying cause has been fixed, however, residual impact is continuing to affect some Microsoft 365 apps and services. We're conducting additional mitigations to provide relief. More details can be found within the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/uFnnN6T3jN
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024
UPDATE: Kurtz said the company is "deeply sorry" for the massive global disruptions the faulty update caused.
“I wanna start with saying we’re deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our company,” he said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show. “So, we know what the issue is. We’re resolving and have resolved the issue. Now it’s recovering systems that are out there.”