HardwareCrowdStrike CEO apologises for global IT outage that has seen planes grounded, health services halted and the BSOD appearing in oh so many places it shouldn’tWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

HardwareCrowdStrike CEO apologises for global IT outage that has seen planes grounded, health services halted and the BSOD appearing in oh so many places it shouldn’tWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Theerakit via Getty Images)

Modern blue screen of death (BSOD) error.

Jump to:CloudStrike’s statement

Jump to:CloudStrike’s statement

Updated on 19 July 2024:This story was updated with CrowdStrike’s confirmation of the issue in ablog postand the CEO’s apology in a statement made to the Today programme. You canwatch that below.

A bug is affecting a large number of systems running Windows and the security software from CrowdStrike. Airlines, train companies, health and emergency services are among those facing an issue causing repeated restarts and the blue screen of death (BSOD).

Microsoft says of the issue: “We have been made aware of an issue impacting Virtual Machines running Windows, running the CrowdStrike Falcon agent, which may encounter a bug check (BSOD) and get stuck in a restarting state. We are aware of this issue and are currently investigating potential options Azure customers can take for mitigation.”

CrowdStrike says in ablog postthat “the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”

UK news broadcasterSky News was offlinefor the morning. It has since managed to restart its service. Though some companies will take longer to get up-and-running again, such as KLM, the major airline out of the Netherlands, which has had to suspend operations. Other airlines have reported disruptions, including Ryanair.

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Auser on Xsuggests an airport in India has resorted to using hand-written boarding passes rather than the usual printed ones.

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There are reports of other airports facing major IT shutdowns and delays or cancellations. GP services in England are alsosaid to be affected.

CrowdStrike admits this is a fault with “a single content update for Windows hosts” and “not a security incident or cyberattack.”

The issue may take some time to resolve fully. Systems in constant boot loops are a nightmare to troubleshoot, update, or rollback to previous updates, as many PC builders can surely attest to. No doubt we should think of the poor IT workers—they’re in for a long day.

CloudStrike CEO’s apology

CrowdStrike CEO: ‘We know what the issue is’ and are resolving it - YouTubeWatch On

CrowdStrike CEO: ‘We know what the issue is’ and are resolving it - YouTube

CrowdStrike CEO: ‘We know what the issue is’ and are resolving it - YouTube

CrowdStrike CEO: ‘We know what the issue is’ and are resolving it - YouTube

“The system was sent an update. That update had a bug in it, and caused an issue with the Microsoft operating system. We identified it very quickly and remediated the issue.”

These systems are said to be stuck in a reboot/BSOD loop, which may prove tricky to update.

“It’s been a long night,” Kurtz says at one point during the interview, following what is looking to beone of the worst IT outages in history.

Even with systems returning, the clean-up from the outages is taking some time. There are thousands of passengers awaiting planes that never took off at airports and medical appointments that never took place. Those leave a backlog to deal with. The good news is that some airports are reporting that systems are back online and they’re getting back to normality.

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