On Friday, a CrowdStrike update caused a widespread outage for millions of Microsoft systems across the globe. This led to many businesses having to make a tough decision: operate on a cash-only basis or shut down until systems were restored. The situation quickly spiraled into chaos in Australia, where the government had been promoting a cashless economy. Photos shared on social media showed grocery stores like Coles with card-only self-checkout machines displaying blue screens of death. Lines at traditional cash registers stretched to the back of the stores, while some shops had to close their doors altogether.
In India, airlines were forced to resort to issuing handwritten boarding passes to passengers with flights scheduled for that day. In the US, various businesses such as the Norfolk Tides baseball team, public pools in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and the Film Forum movie theater in New York announced that they would only accept cash payments until further notice. Even Starbucks, which had been moving towards a more cashless experience, encountered significant challenges. Workers reported that the mobile ordering system was down, and the machine used to print cup labels was not functioning properly. Some customers became upset and rude when faced with these issues.
The outage highlighted the vulnerability of our current cloud and internet infrastructure, according to cybersecurity expert Richard Forno. He emphasized that software supply chains pose a serious cybersecurity risk and could be a single point of failure. The incident on Friday underscored the fragility of our modern information-based society, which lacks robust security measures.
In 2020, there was a trend of businesses transitioning to cashless operations due to the pandemic disrupting the flow of physical money. However, the ACLU has raised concerns about the surveillance of consumers and the negative impact on low-income individuals who rely on cash. Cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New York have even passed laws prohibiting businesses from going completely cashless.
While some businesses advocate for the benefits of going cashless, others argue that it can have adverse effects on certain demographics. For instance, Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta claimed that going cashless reduced transaction times and operational expenses. However, the debate over the advantages and disadvantages of a cashless system continues.
Fortunately, systems at some affected businesses were restored within a few hours. Although some establishments initially announced they would only accept cash, they were able to resume card payments as well. Interestingly, businesses that were already completely cashless, like the Las Vegas Sphere, remained unaffected by the outage. Despite a fake viral post suggesting otherwise, the Sphere representative confirmed that their operations continued smoothly without any disruptions.
