A caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and other services on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers.
The trouble with the update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and affecting computers running Microsoft Windows was not a hacking incident or cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way.
But hours later, the disruptions continued B次元官网网址� and escalated.
Long lines formed at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services at a time when many travelers are heading away on summer vacations. Hospitals and doctorsB次元官网网址� offices had problems with their appointment systems, and cancelled non-urgent surgeries. Several TV stations in the U.S. were also prevented from airing local news early Friday.
Saskia Oettinghaus, a member of the German Olympic diving team, was among those stuck at the Berlin Airport.
B次元官网网址淲e are on our way to Paris for the Olympic Games and now we are at a standstill here for the time being,B次元官网网址� Oettinghaus said.
Other athletes and spectators traveling to Paris were delayed, as were their uniforms and accreditations, but Games organizers said disruptions were limited and didnB次元官网网址檛 affect ticketing or the torch relay.
A disturbing reminder of vulnerability
B次元官网网址淭his is a very, very uncomfortable illustration of the fragility of the worldB次元官网网址檚 core internet infrastructure,B次元官网网址� said Ciaran Martin, a professor at Oxford UniversityB次元官网网址檚 Blavatnik School of Government and former Head of BritainB次元官网网址檚 National Cyber Security Centre.
Cyber expert James Bore said real harm would be caused by the outage because systems people have come to rely on at critical times are not going to be available. Hospitals, for example, will struggle to sort out appointments and those who need care may not get it B次元官网网址� and it will lead to deaths, he said.
B次元官网网址淎ll of these systems are running the same software,B次元官网网址� Bore said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e made all of these tools so widespread that when things inevitably go wrong B次元官网网址� and they will, as weB次元官网网址檝e seen B次元官网网址� they go wrong at a huge scale.B次元官网网址�
The head of GermanyB次元官网网址檚 IT security agency, Claudia Plattner, said that B次元官网网址渢he problems will last some time B次元官网网址� we canB次元官网网址檛 expect a very quick solution.B次元官网网址� A forecast for when exactly all systems will be up and running is difficult, but B次元官网网址渋t wonB次元官网网址檛 be hours,B次元官网网址� she added.
Microsoft spokesperson Frank X. Shaw confirmed in an emailed statement that B次元官网网址渁 CrowdStrike update was responsible for bringing down a number of Windows systems globally.B次元官网网址� Earlier, the company had posted on the that it was working to B次元官网网址渁lleviate impactB次元官网网址� and that they were B次元官网网址渙bserving a positive trend in service availability.B次元官网网址�
During an interview on NBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭oday ShowB次元官网网址� Friday, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized for the outage, saying the company was B次元官网网址渄eeply sorry for the impact that weB次元官网网址檝e caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our companies.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e know what the issue isB次元官网网址� and are working to remediate it, Kurtz said.
B次元官网网址淚t was only the Microsoft operating systemB次元官网网址� that was affected, though it didnB次元官网网址檛 happen on every Microsoft Windows system, he said.
The Austin, Texas-based companyB次元官网网址檚 shares were down nearly 10% in early trading Friday.
A recording playing on its customer service line said, B次元官网网址淐rowdStrike is aware of the reports of crashes on Microsoft ports related to the Falcon sensor,B次元官网网址� referring to one of its products used to block online attacks.
Broadcasters go dark, surgeries delayed, B次元官网网址榖lue screens of deathB次元官网网址�
Meanwhile, governments and companies across the world scrambled to respond.
The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the outage and his team has been touch with the company and other impacted entities.
New ZealandB次元官网网址檚 acting prime minister, David Seymour, that officials in the country were B次元官网网址渕oving at pace to understand the potential impacts,B次元官网网址� adding that he had no information indicating it was a cybersecurity threat.
The issue was causing B次元官网网址渋nconvenienceB次元官网网址� for the public and businesses, he added.
On the Milan stock exchange, the FTSE MIB index of blue-chip Italian stocks could not be compiled for an hour, though trading continued.
Major delays reported at airports grew on Friday morning, with most attributing the problems in booking systems of individual airlines.
In the U.S., airlines United, American and Delta said that at least some flights were resuming after severe disruptions, though delays would persist.
Airlines and railways in the U.K. were also affected, with longer than usual waiting times.
In Germany, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport halted flights for several hours due to difficulties in checking in passengers, while landings at Zurich airport were suspended and flights in Hungary, Italy and Turkey disrupted.
The Dutch carrier KLM said it had been B次元官网网址渇orced to suspend mostB次元官网网址� of its operations.
AmsterdamB次元官网网址檚 Schiphol Airport warned that the outage was having a B次元官网网址渕ajor impact on flightsB次元官网网址� to and from the busy European hub. The chaotic morning coincided with one of the busiest days of the year for Schiphol.
Widespread problems were reported at Australian airports, where lines grew and some passengers were stranded as online check-in services and self-service booths were disabled B次元官网网址� although flights were still operating. Meanwhile, passengers stood in long lines at RomeB次元官网网址檚 Leonardo Da Vinci airport after flights were cancelled following a global power outage.
In New England, the outage led to delays at airports and for some hospitals to cancel appointments.
At Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, all scheduled non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and medical visits were cancelled Friday because of the outage, according to a spokesperson. Emergency departments remain open and care for patients in the hospital has not been impacted.
Australia is particularly affected by outages
While the outages were being experienced worldwide, Australia appeared to be severely affected by the issue. Disruption reported on the site DownDetector included the banks NAB, Commonwealth and Bendigo, and the airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas, as well as internet and phone providers such as Telstra.
National news outlets B次元官网网址� including public broadcaster ABC and Sky B次元官网网址 Australia B次元官网网址� were unable to broadcast on their TV and radio channels for hours. Some news anchors went on air online from dark offices, in front of computers showing B次元官网网址渂lue screens of death.B次元官网网址�
Hospitals in several countries also reported problems.
BritainB次元官网网址檚 National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctorsB次元官网网址� offices across England. NHS England said in a statement said the glitch was affecting the appointment and patient record system used across the public health system.
Some hospitals in northern Germany canceled all elective surgery scheduled for Friday, but emergency care was unaffected.
Shipping was disrupted too: A major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland, the Baltic Hub, said it was battling problems resulting from the global system outage.
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