The Biggest IT Outage in History Impacts Businesses Globally

On July 19, 2024, a global IT outage caused widespread disruption across multiple industries worldwide. The primary cause of this major disturbance was a faulty update to the Falcon Sensor platform from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, affecting Windows-based systems globally.

CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor

CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor is designed to protect against cyber threats. However, this particular update triggered critical errors in Windows systems, leading to the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD), causing computers to shut down or restart abruptly. Users reported severe issues, including computers stuck in startup loops and devices rendered unusable due to corrupted software.

Impact on Azure and Microsoft 365

The issue significantly impacted Microsoft's cloud services, especially in the Central U.S. region, disrupting multiple Azure services and various Microsoft 365 applications. Microsoft confirmed that the outage began around 6:00 PM ET and affected a subset of customers using Azure services.

Widespread Global Impact

The outage had a significant impact across a broad spectrum of sectors globally:

• Aviation: Multiple airlines, including American Airlines, Delta, United, Ryanair, and Turkish Airlines, reported flight delays and cancellations. Major airports like Schiphol in Amsterdam, Gatwick in London, and Brandenburg in Berlin experienced delays in check-in processes and flight operations.
• Banking and Finance: Banks in various countries, including Australia and New Zealand, reported service disruptions, affecting daily operations and customer access to accounts.
• Media and Television: Many media institutions, including Sky News in the UK, experienced broadcast interruptions and transmission issues.
• Healthcare: The UK's National Health Service (NHS) was affected, with some medical systems experiencing downtime, impacting patient access to healthcare services.
• Transportation: Rail services in the UK, including Southern, Thameslink, and Great Northern, reported significant problems.
• Retail: Some supermarkets and stores encountered issues with payment systems, affecting transactions and daily operations.
• Shipping: Multiple shipping companies reported impacts on both shipboard and onshore systems, affecting global operations.

Global Reach‍

The outage affected businesses and services worldwide, with notable disruptions reported in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and India.

‍Response and Recovery

‍Microsoft and CrowdStrike confirmed they were working to resolve the issues and restore affected services. Microsoft focused on rerouting affected traffic and gradually restoring services. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike acknowledged the problem and confirmed that customers were experiencing BSOD errors due to the Falcon Sensor update.‍

Advice for Users‍

Authorities and affected companies offered various tips to minimize the impact on users:

• Passengers were advised to arrive early at airports and check for updates with airlines.
• Patients were advised to contact healthcare providers only for urgent issues.
• Users were encouraged to be patient while IT teams worked to resolve the problems.

Solution for CrowdStrike EDR Falcon UsersIf you have Crowdstrike EDR Falcon and experienced a blue screen, the solution is as follows:

1. Start Windows in Safe Mode or Windows Recovery Environment.
2. Go to the directory C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike.
3. Find the file "C-00000291*.sys" and delete it.
4. Run the computer normally.

Lessons Learned‍

This major IT outage highlights the critical dependence of global businesses and services on IT infrastructure and the potential for cascading effects when major systems encounter problems. It is essential for all companies to have contingency plans and rapid solutions to minimize the impact of such disruptions in the future.‍

Stay Updated‍

For more details and real-time updates, visit the official sources of Microsoft and CrowdStrike, as well as relevant news websites.

You can find the original article here

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Alexandru Dan

CEO, TVL Tech

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