A global outage caused by a faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike impacted around 8.5 million Windows devices, according to a blog post from Microsoft. The faulty update led to a blue screen of death, halting systems used by hospitals, airlines, banks, and other major services temporarily. Thankfully, the issue was mostly resolved by Friday afternoon, but Microsoft and CrowdStrike are still working to address the aftermath.
In a blog post on Saturday, Microsoft’s VP of Enterprise and OS Security, David Weston, mentioned that they are collaborating with CrowdStrike to create a scalable solution. This solution will aid Microsoft’s Azure infrastructure in speeding up the process of fixing CrowdStrike’s faulty update. Microsoft has also enlisted the help of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to tackle the situation.
According to CrowdStrike’s own blog post on Saturday, the faulty update, which was a sensor configuration update, was intended to target newly identified malicious named pipes used in cyberattacks by common C2 frameworks. However, for devices running Windows 7.11 and above with CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor, the update triggered a logic error that led to an operating system crash. Fortunately, the total number of devices affected was less than one percent of all Windows machines, as confirmed by Weston.
This incident highlights the importance of thorough testing and quality control measures when rolling out updates, especially in critical systems used by various essential services. Cybersecurity providers and tech companies must work together to prevent such widespread outages in the future and ensure the security and stability of systems that people rely on daily. Collaborative efforts like those between Microsoft, CrowdStrike, AWS, and GCP demonstrate the industry’s commitment to resolving issues promptly and efficiently to minimize disruptions for users and businesses.
