Editor’s note: Check out our frequently updated live blog All the new developments regarding the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage
Hospital, aviationtelevision network, bank – you name it, it might be interrupted, delayed or canceled due to Friday’s massive global tech meltdown that brought down many companies’ systems.
The worldwide power outage began in the early morning hours in the United States, and apparently the problem only affects Windows-based computers and networks. But it turns out Microsoft isn’t the culprit.
Who is behind the blackout? A cybersecurity company based in Austin, Texas, is called CrowdStrike.
How CrowdStrike destroyed Windows computers around the world
mass strike It is a well-known company in the field of network security. The company was co-founded by George Kurtz, chief technology officer of antivirus company McAfee. CrowdStrike is publicly traded and has over 8,000 employee.
However, CrowdStrike isn’t exactly a household name—at least not to the average consumer. This is because the company provides cyber attack protection to businesses. CrowdStrike has become a leading name in cybersecurity, serving many of the world’s largest companies. Such a broad customer base is why the current issue affects so many businesses and their customers.
CrowdStrike’s mission is to secure a company’s critical information from malicious actors and prevent hackers from compromising corporate computer systems through cyberattacks. However, it turned out that CrowdStrike itself made mistakes that ultimately brought down the computer systems of many of its global customers.
Mix and match speed of light
According to CrowdStrike, a bug Recently launched updates One of its products for servicing Microsoft Windows computers ended up causing a global tech meltdown. The issue appears to be related to its cloud-based Falcon platform, specifically its Falcon Sensor product, which CrowdStrike says “can stop attacks on systems while capturing and recording activity as it quickly detects threats.”
At the time of publication, it was unclear how CrowdStrike’s bug was deployed on instant client systems. However, based on available information, cybersecurity experts believe CrowdStrike update issues are related to a core driver-related bug. The kernel is essentially the core software component of a computer operating system.
Often, if an error occurs in an application, users will find that the application cannot run. However, due to the nature of Internet security software that requires deep access to your computer to function effectively, errors in such software can bring down your entire computer. That seems to be the case.
Computer systems around the world are now experiencing the dreaded Windows “Blue Screen of Death.”
How long will the CrowdStrike outage last?
Once the bug was discovered, CrowdStrike actually worked quickly to fix it. However, the update is already rolling out and any PCs that have it automatically installed will soon be affected.
And CrowStrike Fix provided For those Windows systems that already have the update installed. But CrowdStrike is also unable to roll out automatic repairs to these computers. Each affected system must be handled individually.
Since each computer needs to be repaired individually, CrowdStrike CEO Kurtz warned, it may take a while until the outage is fully alleviated.
Mashable will continue to monitor CrowdStrike/Microsoft outages and provide updates.