Written By Lisa Murimi
A single update from US-based antivirus company Crowdstrike has caused unprecedented global disruption today, described as the largest outage ever.
CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company known for its endpoint protection services. Founded in 2011, the company specializes in providing advanced threat intelligence, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and managed threat hunting through its flagship product, Falcon.
Falcon is a cloud-native platform designed to protect against a wide range of cyber threats by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning.
CrowdStrike’s services are used by organizations to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber attacks, including malware, ransomware, and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
The company has gained prominence for its role in investigating and mitigating high-profile cyber incidents and for its innovative approach to cybersecurity.
The update to Crowdstrike’s Falcon virus scanner wreaked havoc on millions of Windows computers, leading to widespread “Blue Screen of Death” errors.
Microsoft swiftly attributed the issue to a “third-party problem,” leaving Apple and Linux users unaffected and relieved.
The fallout has been severe, with countless services and companies affected worldwide. The extent of the disruption has overwhelmed efforts to document all the impacted entities.
Crowdstrike has issued a fix, but IT professionals report that every affected machine will require a manual reboot in safe mode, complicating recovery efforts.
While there’s no indication of malicious intent or data breaches, the lack of an apology from Crowdstrike’s CEO George Kurtz has sparked criticism.
The update’s timing—on a Friday—has exacerbated the situation, as many IT teams are less available over the weekend, prolonging the resolution process.
This incident underscores the world’s reliance on remote-managed tech platforms and the vulnerabilities inherent in their updates.
As recovery efforts continue, the tech community anticipates a thorough review to prevent future debacles. For now, Crowdstrike users should refer to the company’s support site for guidance on addressing the outage.
