An IT failure caused by a botched software upgrade from CrowdStrike, impacting Microsoft’s Windows operating system, has led to a massive global outage affecting airports, healthcare services, businesses, and other sectors. The UK government is coordinating a response through the Cobra committee and is working with industries to tackle the fallout. CrowdStrike confirmed the outage was not due to a cyber-attack but was caused by an update from their product.
Stock prices of companies like CrowdStrike and Govia Thameslink Railway have been affected, while various services in the UK reported issues, including Visa, BT, supermarkets, banks, online gaming platforms, and media outlets. Financial services like Metro Bank, Santander, Monzo, JP Morgan, and the London Stock Exchange also experienced disruptions.
Experts warn that full recovery could take weeks, as affected PCs may need manual fixes. The BCS estimates that some fixes may be quick, while others could take days or weeks. The outage has caused cancellations of flights, hospital appointments, and operations worldwide, impacting essential city services, 999 services, and various industries.
While the problems are not believed to be caused by adversarial cyber-attacks, experts laboring to fix the issue face challenges due to the scale of affected machines and potential lack of IT staff. However, the former head of the National Cyber Security Centre believes a solution is in sight, and the recovery process is expected to progress over the coming days. The situation was further complicated by issues with Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service on the previous day, further affecting businesses in the US.
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