Bad Crowdstrike Update Connected to Worldwide Microsoft Meltdown

On dated July19,2024, a malicious software update from cybersecurity provider Crowdstrike rendered numerous Microsoft Windows systems inoperable worldwide, interfering with internet operations for hospitals, businesses, financial institutions, and airlines. Although experts warn that recovery from this outage may take some time, as Crowdstrike's solution must be manually administered on a per-machine basis, the company has stated that a remedy has been released.

The program started displaying the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" on Windows computers running it earlier today due to an incorrect update that Crowdstrike sent out, making those systems momentarily inoperable. Similar to other security software, Crowdstrike depends on extensive integration with the Windows operating system to repel cyberattacks; yet, in such a setting, even a minor programming mistake might have disastrous consequences.

George Kurtz, the CEO of Crowdstrike, stated in a post on Twitter/X that Mac and Linux users are unaffected and that an update has been sent to fix the code error.

Kurtz echoed a written statement from Crowdstrike on Twitter, saying, "This is not a security incident or cyberattack." "A fix has been deployed once the issue has been located and isolated."

The solution, according to a tweet from Crowdstrike's threat hunting operations director, is to restart the computer after removing the file "C-00000291*.sys" and booting Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE).

According to The New York Times, a recent spate of failures affecting Microsoft's Azure cloud services may have made the software problem worse. However, it's still unclear whether these Azure issues are connected to the problematic Crowdstrike version. Revision at 4:03 p.m. ET: According to Microsoft, the problematic Crowdstrike upgrade had nothing to do with today's Azure issues.

According to Matt Burgess at Wired, numerous medical practitioners worldwide have reported problems with Windows-linked systems, disseminating information on social media or their own websites.

Burgess stated, "There have been multiple 911 outages in a number of states, according to the US Emergency Alert System, which issues hurricane warnings." The University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Germany announced the cancellation of certain non-urgent surgery at two of its locations. Ambulances have reportedly been diverted to unaffected medical facilities in Israel, where over a dozen hospitals and pharmacies have been affected.

The appointment and patient record systems in the UK have been affected by the disruptions, according to NHS England.

According to Wired, "one hospital has declared a 'critical' incident after it was impacted by a third-party IT system." Additionally, train operators in the nation have reported that there are delays throughout the network, affecting a number of businesses.

Social media was awash with pictures of passengers at airports surrounded by computer screens showing the Microsoft blue screen error as a result of today's outage, prompting quick and harsh reactions. The CEO of Crowdstrike was chastised by several Twitter/X users for not apologizing for the extremely disruptive event, and some pointed out that the firm would face legal action if it did.

In the meantime, the global Windows outage swiftly emerged as the most discussed topic on Twitter/X, where a collection of satirical postings from cybersecurity experts posing as first-week employees at Crowdstrike was compiled by artificial intelligence bots. Amazingly, Twitter/X's AI condensed these caustic tweets into a positive, upbeat narrative about Crowdstrike, which was trending as the top topic on Twitter this morning.

The AI summary stated, "Several people have recently begun working at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike and have expressed their excitement and pride in their new roles." "They are hoping for successful results in their work and have shared their experiences of pushing code to production on their first day."