On July 19, 2024, a significant global cyber blackout occurred, impacting various sectors, including air travel, banking, healthcare, and communication. In the early hours of that day, the cyber blackout led to severe disruptions in computing systems across multiple countries. Major airports in the United States, Europe, India, Hong Kong, and Singapore experienced problems, resulting in the cancellation of over 4,000 flights. Additionally, healthcare services in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany were affected, with elective surgeries being canceled in several hospitals. The situation also disrupted television broadcasts and emergency communication systems.
The blackout was attributed to a faulty update of Microsoft’s antivirus software, which impacted the Azure platform responsible for cloud data storage. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which provides protection through its Falcon software, confirmed that the disruption was related to a flaw in a Windows update. Both Microsoft and CrowdStrike stated that there was no evidence suggesting the blackout was the result of a cyberattack; rather, it was a technical error.
The impacts of the blackout were extensive and varied. In the air transport sector, major U.S. airlines suspended all flights, while many international airports faced long lines and significant delays. Banking services in several countries, including New Zealand and Australia, reported system outages, causing difficulties for customers. The healthcare system in countries like the UK and Germany was severely affected, leading to the cancellation of surgeries and interruptions in essential services. Communication and media channels also faced challenges, with some networks temporarily going off the air. Additionally, the organizing committee for the Paris Olympics reported technical issues, impacting operations just a week before the start of the competitions.
Initially, Microsoft was identified as the company responsible for the update that changed the announcement. But soon after, it was identified that CrowdStrike was primarily responsible. CrowdStrike, a company that works in cybersecurity, confirmed that the failure was a technical error and not a malicious attack. Following the incident, CrowdStrike shares fell around 20%, reflecting market concern about the severity of the situation. This event is considered by experts as one of the biggest IT outages in history, revealing the "millennium bug" that many feared in 2000, but which was resolved before it came to fruition. Although the failure was resolved quickly, the impacts of this failure still cause a delay for everything to be resolved, as to resolve this problem on the affected devices, manual maintenance must be carried out on each device.
The information regarding the involvement of Microsoft and CrowdStrike in the cyber blackout on July 19, 2024, indicates that the incident was primarily caused by a faulty update from CrowdStrike, specifically related to their Falcon security tool. According to reports, the blackout affected around 8.5 million Windows devices globally, and while Microsoft acknowledged the impact on its systems, it clarified that the root cause was a technical issue stemming from CrowdStrike's update, not a direct failure of Microsoft's systems.
CrowdStrike's CEO stated that the disruption was not a security incident or cyberattack but resulted from a defect in a content update. The Swiss Federal Cyber Security Office also confirmed that a misconfiguration from CrowdStrike led to the widespread technological interruptions. Microsoft, while affected, emphasized that they were working closely with CrowdStrike to resolve the issues and restore services, highlighting the interconnected nature of modern technology systems and the importance of secure deployment and disaster recovery processes.
In summary, while Microsoft experienced significant disruptions due to the CrowdStrike update, the primary responsibility for the incident lies with CrowdStrike, as they were the ones who issued the problematic update that caused the blackout.
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