Today, a faulty software update from cybersecurity company Crowdstrike caused major problems for countless Microsoft Windows computers around the world. This issue disrupted various sectors, including airline travel, financial institutions, hospitals, and online businesses. Although Crowdstrike has released a fix, experts warn that recovery may take time because the solution needs to be applied manually to each affected machine.
The Problem with the Update
This morning, an incorrect update from Crowdstrike began causing Windows computers with the software to show the “Blue Screen of Death,” making those systems unusable. Like most security software, Crowdstrike needs deep access to the Windows operating system to protect against digital threats. However, a small coding error in such an environment can lead to serious problems.
Crowdstrike’s Response
Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz posted on Twitter/X, stating that the issue is not a security incident or cyberattack. He confirmed that the problem has been identified and fixed, and that Mac and Linux systems are not affected.
“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” Kurtz said.
How to Fix the Problem
According to the director of Crowdstrike’s threat hunting operations, the fix involves:
- Booting Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE).
- Deleting the file named “C-00000291*.sys.”
- Restarting the computer.
Impact on Various Sectors
Health Care and Emergency Services
Matt Burgess from Wired reported that many medical providers around the world have had problems with their Windows systems. This includes issues shared on social media or on their own websites. For example:
- US Emergency Alert System: Various 911 outages in several states.
- Germany’s University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein: Canceling some nonurgent surgeries at two locations.
- Israel: More than a dozen hospitals and pharmacies impacted, with ambulances rerouted to nonimpacted medical organizations.
United Kingdom
In the UK, NHS England confirmed that appointment and patient record systems were affected by the outage. Wired also reported that one hospital declared a ‘critical’ incident after a third-party IT system it used was impacted. Additionally, train operators reported delays across the network, affecting multiple companies.
Social Media Reactions
Social media reactions to the outage were swift and critical. Many users posted images of airport computer screens showing the Blue Screen of Death. Some Twitter/X users criticized the Crowdstrike CEO for not apologizing for the widespread disruption, noting that an apology might lead to lawsuits against the company.
Twitter/X AI’s Misleading Summary
Interestingly, Twitter/X’s artificial intelligence bots turned a series of sarcastic posts from cybersecurity professionals into a positive story about Crowdstrike. The AI summary, which was promoted as the top discussion on Twitter this morning, read:
“Several individuals have recently started working at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike and have expressed their excitement and pride in their new roles. They have shared their experiences of pushing code to production on their first day and are looking forward to positive outcomes in their work.”
While Crowdstrike has released a fix for the faulty update, the recovery process will take time as the solution needs to be applied to each affected machine manually. The outage has had significant impacts on various sectors, including health care, emergency services, and public transportation. Social media reactions highlight the frustration and disruption caused by the update.
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