Washington: In an alarming revelation, Microsoft announced on Saturday that the CrowdStrike upgrade affected 8.5 million Windows operating systems. This unexpected blow halted hundreds of flights globally and disrupted internet access. While this figure represents less than 1 percent of Windows PCs, the severity of the impact cannot be overstated. It serves as a stark reminder of the widespread use of CrowdStrike by businesses that manage numerous vital services.
The IT giant said in a statement that it is “working around the clock and providing ongoing updates and support.”
“Additionally, CrowdStrike has helped us develop a scalable solution that will help Microsoft’s Azure infrastructure accelerate a fix for CrowdStrike’s faulty update,” it added.
CrowdStrike is a leading cybersecurity firm whose software update to customers on Friday impacted computer systems using Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The update halted an estimated 1,400 flights from the US to the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, and Dubai. It also interfered with local transportation networks, banking, and medical services in several American cities.
The disruptions were so serious that the White House announced that teams of US officials were in contact with actors in the private sector to find an early resolution and that President Joe Biden had been briefed about them.
“While software updates may occasionally cause disturbances, significant incidents like the CrowdStrike event are infrequent,” Microsoft said.
“We currently estimate that CrowdStrike’s update affected 8.5 million Windows devices or less than 1 percent of all Windows machines. While the percentage was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services,” it added.
Microsoft also said the outage demonstrated the “interconnected nature of our broad ecosystem — global Cloud providers, software platforms, security vendors and other software vendors, and customers.”
The company noted that the outage was also a reminder, saying, “It showed how important it is for all of us across the tech ecosystem to prioritise operating with safe deployment and disaster recovery using existing mechanisms.”
–IANS
