A massive technology outage early Friday morning has affected several large businesses, airports, and banks, turning their services offline. The issue has already had ripple effects across the globe.
The issue highlights the issue of depending on software from a small handful of internet providers. The company behind the outage, CrowdStrike, has said that the outage marks a historic failure for their organization.
What’s Behind the Outage?
The issues with software and internet access stem from a faulty update for Microsoft Windows operating systems.
The update was initiated by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Although the original issue has already been rectified, systems and servers around the world are still struggling to access essential information. Getting back online could be a lengthy process.
Not Caused by Cyberattack
In the past few months, cybercriminals have stolen billions from people worldwide using ransomware, a sneaky method that businesses have a difficult time protecting themselves against.
Hackers use their expert knowledge to gain access to a company’s internal servers. They quickly disable essential components of the business, often costing millions in damages and lost revenue. Then, the hackers hold the solution for ransom until the corporation wires them hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. However, CrowdStrike has pushed this theory aside and has said that the issues are not cybercrime-related.
Critical Services Are Down
The outages have greatly impacted banks in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Britain that rely on Microsoft software systems.
As well, essential 911 services are disrupted throughout several U.S. cities.
NY Governor Calls the Outage Unprecedented
The Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has said that the IT outage on transportation links and healthcare facilities is an “unprecedented situation.”
The top priority in New York state is to keep 911 systems operational and allow a direct line of help open to residents. The outage has also impacted hospital and primary care facilities. However, as of now, there is no indication of a threat to personal security or sensitive information.
White House Officials Speaking to CrowdStrike CEO
A serious disruption in travel and essential services has garnered the attention of White House officials.
A senior White House suber and tech official spoke with the CEO of CrowdStrike early this morning to assess the impact of the global IT outage and confirmed that the source was not a malicious cyber gang.
Risks in a Global Security System
One of the unrelenting impacts of a globalized system is the possibility of a total shutdown.
Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies on the National Security Council, says, “We need to really think about our digital resilience not just in the systems we run but in the globally connected security systems, the risks of consolidation, how we deal with that consolidation and how we ensure that if an incident does occur it can be contained and we can recover quickly.”
Thousands of Flights Cancelled in the U.S.
As of Friday morning, more than 1,500 flights across the U.S. had been canceled, and nearly 4,000 more had been delayed. The numbers are expected to rise throughout the day.
Delta has cancelled nearly 500 flights, American with 200 and United with more than 200.
Impacts Expected on World Economy
A small bug has turned into a massive issue for the world’s economy. According to the forecasting firm Capital Economics, the financial markets run on a different system, so they’re not currently being affected.
However, the large corporations and businesses that use Microsoft to operate will undoubtedly face financial repercussions. Several countries around the world are already trending downward because of the loss in revenue.
Billions Could Be Lost
One kink in the supply chain can cause a domino effect on the world’s economy.
A cybersecurity expert at Loughborough University in the UK says that technicians may be needed in-person to perform maintenance and assist in the recovery process. Until then, thousands of businesses will be unable to operate normally.
Portland Issues City Wide Emergency
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler, has issued a city-wide emergency declaration due to the ongoing IT outage.
He has said that the issue has caused some of the city servers and employee computers to become nonresponsive, resulting in several sectors becoming unworkable. Essential services and emergency communications have been greatly impacted.
CrowdStrike CEO Issues Apology
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz says that a system update with a small bug in it caused the problem with Microsoft Windows operating systems.
He told NBC’s “Today Show,” “We’re deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travellers, to anyone affected by this, including our companies. We know what the issue is” and are working to remediate it.
