Global Cyber Outage Disrupts Flights, Banks, and Media

News Desk - 19/07/2024

A major global disruption unfolded on Friday, causing widespread outages that affected flights, banks, telecoms, and media outlets worldwide. The disruption was linked to a product update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which impacted customers using Microsoft’s Windows Operating System. The issue began early Friday, causing major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines, to ground flights. This resulted in significant delays at airports across the globe, with reports of operational issues at multiple international hubs.

At airports in Singapore, Hong Kong, and India, passengers were forced to go through manual check-ins due to the system failure. In addition, major airports like Amsterdam’s Schiphol and airlines such as Iberia reported similar disruptions, leading to chaos in travel. In the financial sector, banks and trading platforms from Australia to Germany faced transaction difficulties. Traders worldwide referred to the situation as the “mother of all global market outages,” reflecting the severity of the impact.

Booking systems for British doctors went offline, causing scheduling issues. Sky News experienced significant broadcast issues, and even Manchester United had to postpone the release of tickets. CrowdStrike’s CEO, George Kurtz, clarified the situation on social media, explaining that the problem was caused by a defect in a single content update for Windows hosts. He emphasized that this was not a cyberattack or security breach but a technical issue.

Microsoft confirmed that the issue was related to its Azure cloud unit and Windows devices. A fix was being implemented to resolve the issue. The disruptions were traced to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor software, which is used by over half of the Fortune 500 companies. This software caused blue screen errors on Windows devices, with a manual workaround provided for affected users.

Experts, including Ciaran Martin from Oxford University, stressed the vulnerability of critical internet infrastructure in light of the disruption. The widespread impact prompted discussions about the resilience of IT security tools, especially given the scale of the outages. As companies work to restore normal operations, analysts are calling this event one of the most severe IT outages in history. The incident highlights the urgent need for stronger cybersecurity measures across all sectors.