Updated: 2024-07-22
Microsoft has announced that it estimates that the flawed security update from the company Crowdstrike had time to spread to 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide on Friday. Although they only affected less than one percent of all Windows devices in the world, the failure had a major impact on many functions in the community.
The Verge reports that Microsoft has now also launched a repair tool that should make it easier for IT technicians to restore all the affected computers. The tool runs from a USB stick and automatically removes the corrupted Crowdstrike file from your computer’s hard drive.
Previously: 2024-07-20
The Public Safety and Emergency Management Agency’s Computer Security Incident Response Team has released a fix for the Crowdstrike outage that began wreaking havoc on computers worldwide yesterday morning after security firm Crowdstrike released a broken update.
What then do you need to do to save a computer that has been affected? According to the authority, all you have to do is follow these four steps:
In an interview with SVT, Måns Jonasson from the Internet Foundation said that since millions of computers worldwide have been affected by the Crowdstrike failure, it can take up to several weeks before IT technicians have time to repair all affected computers.
The Wall Street Journal reports that there are rumors that there could be serious penalties for Crowdstrike, not just a slap on the finger. It remains to be seen how well the company recovers from the fiasco, with Crowdstrike’s stock already down over 11 percent.
Previously: 2024-07-19
Troy Hunt, the Australian cyber security expert behind the website Have I Been Pwned, compares today’s global IT disaster, caused by a broken update from the security company Crowdstrike, but the infamous Y2K bug from the turn of the millennium.
“This is pretty much what we all worried about with Y2K, except it actually happened this time,” Hunt wrote in a post on social media platform X. Hunt also doesn’t think it’s too early to call this for the biggest IT disaster ever.
I don’t think it’s too early to call it: this will be the largest IT outage in history
— Troy Hunt (@troyhunt) July 19, 2024
The Crowdstrike crash continues to cause technical chaos in many places, even here in Sweden. SVT reports that several stores around the country have had to close due to IT problems caused by the breakdown, and LKAB has had to evacuate staff from the mine in Malmberget due to system disturbances.
Reuters reports that Microsoft and Crowdstrike have each found solutions to the problem, but Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz has said it may take some time before all computers are restored. A possible workaround for the Crowdstrike crash is to enable the command prompt during the boot loop, and use it to extract specific files from Crowdstrike’s drivers.
Earlier:
The Crowdstrike accident has also caused problems in several places in Sweden. The airline SAS announces on its website that the booking system is not working and SVT reports that local traffic in several counties has been affected.
Christian Kask
Christian Kask
Christian Kask
There have been disruptions to websites and apps for both Blekingetrafiken and Jönköping county traffic. Among other things, it has not been possible to search for trips or buy tickets.
There is currently a global system failure. This disruption also has an impact on flights to and from Schiphol. The impact is now being mapped. Do you have a question about your flight? Please contact your airline.
— Schiphol (@Schiphol) July 19, 2024
Elsewhere in Europe, Berlin Airport announced that it was temporarily suspending all air traffic, and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport announced on social media platform X that it was also affected by the Crowdstrike crash.
Earlier:
The Verge reports that thousands of Windows PCs worldwide today have been hit by the infamous Blue Screen of Death. The disaster has affected many companies, including banks, airlines, grocery stores, and television companies. However, it is not Microsoft that is behind the Windows mess.
The blue screens of death are said to have been caused by a broken security update sent out by cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. Affected computers and servers end up in a boot loop, they restart again and again and cannot be started properly.
Australian banks, airlines and broadcasters, including the public service company ABC, were the first to report the error, but it has now also reached Europe. The British television company Sky News and the Irish airline Ryanair are among the affected companies. In the USA, the airlines United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines have chosen to cancel all departures.
Crowdstrike has announced that it has identified the bug and has taken down the broken update, but that won’t help the already affected computers.
