Mr.Tee
Businesses and services around the world are slowly recovering from a major IT outage caused by a faulty software update from CrowdStrike, emphasizing the fragility of the interconnected global economy.
On Friday, the problematic update led to widespread disruptions, affecting flights, financial companies, news outlets, hospitals, supermarkets, small businesses, and government offices. While many services were back online by Saturday, George Kurtz, CEO of CrowdStrike, warned that full recovery could take weeks. Kurtz apologized to all affected and stressed the importance of remaining vigilant against potential exploitation of the situation by adversaries.
The White House stated that President Joe Biden’s team was in contact with CrowdStrike and the affected parties, offering assistance as needed. A senior US official confirmed that while flight operations had resumed nationwide, some congestion persisted.
Junade Ali from Britain’s Institution of Engineering and Technology called the scale of the outage “unprecedented,” likening it to a significant 2017 incident. Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the University of New South Wales’ AI Institute, noted that the incident highlights society’s dependence on computers and questioned the robustness of the internet, originally designed as a nuclear-proof communication network.
In Europe, airports, including Berlin’s, resumed operations after suspensions, though numerous flights were canceled. Turkish Airlines and Italian officials reported dozens of cancellations. Latin American airports advised passengers to arrive earlier, while Chinese media reported no impact on Beijing’s airports. Companies continued to patch their systems and assess the damage, with officials ruling out foul play.
The outage exposed economic vulnerabilities and market volatility, according to Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey in New York. Experts urged a reassessment of society’s reliance on a few technology companies. Professor John McDermid from Britain’s York University emphasized the need for infrastructure resilience against such widespread failures.
Toby Walsh predicted more issues as people return to work and encounter system problems. Despite the incident, analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities believes CrowdStrike’s market position remains strong, noting the incident was a technical glitch, not a hack. CrowdStrike’s stock dropped over 11% on Friday, but the company, with nearly 30,000 subscribers, remains a leading cybersecurity provider.
