Businesses and services worldwide are gradually recovering after a major IT outage disrupted computer systems for several hours on Thursday and Friday. The outage, caused by a faulty software update from cyber-security firm Crowdstrike, severely affected Microsoft Windows systems. Among the hardest hit were businesses, banks, hospitals, and airlines.
Crowdstrike's CEO has apologized for the disruption and announced that a fix has been issued, though he admitted that full recovery could take some time. While some airlines are beginning to resume normal operations after thousands of flights were canceled, delays and cancellations are expected to continue through the weekend. Many businesses are now dealing with backlogs and missed orders that could take days to resolve. Health services in Britain, Israel, and Germany also experienced significant issues, including canceled operations.
The global chaos has raised concerns about the vulnerability of interconnected technologies and the widespread impact of a single software glitch. The issue began at 19:00 GMT on Thursday, affecting Windows users running CrowdStrike Falcon cybersecurity software. The full extent of the problem only became clear by Friday morning. By Friday evening, the situation was improving in many areas, with most flights running despite ongoing issues with check-in and payment systems. Hong Kong International Airport, for instance, has resumed normal operations according to Chinese state media. JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the US, is working to restore service to ATM machines.
The website Downdetector, which monitors tech issues, showed fewer problems in the UK by the end of the day. Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz explained on X that the issue stemmed from a defect in a single content update for Windows hosts. He expressed deep regret for the impact on customers, travelers, and others affected, including Crowdstrike itself. Kurtz noted that many customers are rebooting their systems to restore functionality, but acknowledged that it could take some time for all systems to recover fully. Microsoft has indicated that multiple reboots, possibly as many as 15, may be required to resolve the issue, and tech experts have stated that Crowdstrike's fix must be applied to each affected device individually.
The incident is likely to prompt questions about Crowdstrike's influence as a major player in the cybersecurity market and the wisdom of having such a critical industry dominated by a small number of companies. Crowdstrike's shares fell by approximately 12% on Friday, benefiting competitors SentinelOne and Palo Alto Networks. The problems were first detected in Australia and were particularly severe in the air travel industry, where long queues, flight cancellations, and grounded aircraft left passengers stranded. Some airports had to draft in extra staff to manually check in passengers. By 18:00 GMT, aviation data from Cirium indicated that more than 4,000 flights, or 3.9% of the total, had been canceled, though this figure may include flights canceled for other reasons.
The outage also impacted payment systems, banking, and healthcare providers globally. The long-term effects could include difficulties in wage payments, especially for companies that pay weekly. Some railway companies reported delays, and broadcasters like Sky News and ABC Australia experienced outages.