Some of the headaches and logjams caused by the global IT outage people have been suffering through on Friday have mercifully started to ease as we move into the evening hours. But as my colleague Streiff reported this morning, it was something of a mess for millions of Microsoft users around the globe hoping to see the back of a long week:
Millions of users of Microsoft products found themselves without service Friday as a security update pushed out by Crowdstrike went terribly wrong. Across the globe, the outage knocked out operations for banks, trains, airlines, and emergency services.
Windows computers and tablets crashed in countries from the U.S. to China and Australia, with reports of forced restarts of devices spreading across social media throughout the day.
The problem appeared to be caused by an update from CrowdStrike, Microsoft employees and outside technology professionals familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Several cited an error message related to Crowdstrike on affected devices, and a subsequent workaround that was aimed at deleting a CrowdStrike file.
The CrowdStrike CEO dropped a boilerplate message to users on X, noting that “this is not a security incident or cyberattack,” which did little to quiet some grumbling on the social media site:
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
Read More: Microsoft Glitch Brings Worldwide Halt to Business and Government Operations
One of the widely reported effects was a snowballing of delays and cancelations in air travel on Friday morning, with the glitch affecting major carriers American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines.
But the transportation tangles weren’t just felt in the airline industry, as programs used by U.S. Border Patrol agents at both the Mexican and Canadian borders were stymied by the shutdown:
CBP One, an app developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for migrants, travelers, bus operators, pilots, commercial truck drivers and others, was experiencing technical issues. Customs and Border Protection’s desktop border wait times website appeared to be experiencing an outage as well.
The Detroit Free Press reported stalled traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the city with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. “Vehicles appeared to be going about 10 mph into America and moving a little faster—about 25 mph—into Canada,” the outlet…. reported just before 9 a.m. Traffic was also slow at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, more so for those entering the U.S. than those going to Canada.
Considering the details of how many major companies depend on the CrowdStrike software in the Free Press report (linked above), the situation could not be more concerning: (emphasis mine)
The update that triggered the fiasco was to a product connected to Austin-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, Reuters news reported. The cybersecurity firm said it was aware of the problem, which also appeared to interfere with Microsoft’s Windows Operating System, but, Microsoft had said, had been corrected.
The chaos was so widespread because the software is used by many of the nation’s biggest businesses. CrowdStrike, in a promotional video, has said it is used by over half of “Fortune 500” companies, the largest U.S. businesses ranked by revenue by Fortune magazine, according to a USA Today report.
Here are some of the other services and companies affected by the outage:
Airport Services:
An X post from Gatwick Express , a train service for the [major UK] airport, said the company was unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, “leading to potential short-notice cancelations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks.”
A spokesperson for Belfast International Airport confirmed to BI that whiteboards were being used to handwrite flight information before systems were later restored. Whiteboards were also used at Singapore Changi Airport.
911 Dispatch Services:
According to a Facebook post from Alaska State Troopers , emergency lines in the state are also affected.
The post read:
“Due to a nationwide technology-related outage, many 911 and non-emergency call centers are not working correctly across the State of Alaska.
We appreciate your patience and will update you when we know more.”
The NYC Subway:
In an X post, the NYCT subway said: “Train arrival information is unavailable for A/B/C/D/E/F/G/J/M/N/Q/R/Z/Rockaway Park Shuttle/Franklin Av Shuttle due to a worldwide technical outage. Train service is unaffected.”
The post said the tech outage was also impacting Subway officials’ ability to see train locations.
Broadcast Media:
Sky News also appears to have been hit by the outage. The UK news channel has been showing archive footage and briefly displaying an error message.
The news site appears to be up and running at the time of writing.
FedEx/UPS Deliveries:
In a statement on the company’s website , FedEx said it was experiencing “substantial disruptions throughout our networks due to a global IT outage experienced by a third-party software vendor.” The company said parcels due to be delivered on Friday might face delays.
A UPS spokesperson told BI that it continues to operate effectively but there may be some service delays due to third-party outage “impacting some UPS computer systems in the U.S. and Europe.”
DMV Locations:
From a somewhat lighthearted angle, this one might have been welcome for some aggravated citizens, actually.
“Drivers in some states are unable to access services because of the outage,” with North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee Drivers Centers/Department of Motor Vehicles locations down for the count.
You can find the full list of disrupted services/companies here.
As this is a developing story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.
