Global Technology Meltdown Traced Back to Single Glitch from US Cybersecurity Firm

Clear Facts

• Major technology outage disrupts airlines, emergency response systems, businesses, and media organizations globally.
• The glitch is traced back to a faulty update from CrowdStrike, a U.S. cybersecurity technology company, affecting over half of the Fortune 500 companies who use their software.
• Despite some businesses and airlines resuming operations, continued disruptions are expected across various industries and regions.

A substantial technology outage caused chaos on airlines, emergency response systems, and businesses, leading to significant disruptions across multiple sectors. This tech glitch grounded flights and impacted media organizations on an international scale.

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines were among the airlines impacted, each publicly acknowledging the effect on their operations. Emergency services were disrupted too, with reports of disturbances in police agencies and healthcare providers in Phoenix, Arizona, which necessitated manual dispatching.

Banks and financial firms in various locations including Australia, India, and Germany issued warnings about service disruptions. In the UK, medical booking systems went offline, while a renowned British broadcasting company was unable to transmit live.

It was found that the technology glitch was caused by a faulty update from CrowdStrike, a U.S. cybersecurity technology company based in Texas. This update led to crashes and the notorious “Blue Screen of Death” displayed on Windows computers and tablets. CrowdStrike, a software utilized by more than half of the Fortune 500 companies, was identified as the culprit.

CrowdStrike’s CEO, George Kurtz, stated, “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. Customers are referred to the support portal for the latest updates and we will continue to provide updates on our website.” He clarified that this was not a security incident or a cyberattack and that Mac and Linux hosts were not impacted.

American Airlines noted that it managed to “safely re-establish our operation.” However, the FAA confirmed that all flights across the board have been affected.

Airports in Singapore, Hong Kong, India and even Europe reported outages that necessitated manual passenger check-ins. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and the airline Iberia were not exceptions to this.

Separately, Microsoft had issues with its cloud services, which affected apps like Teams video conferencing. The tech giant was “working on rerouting traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact” and observed “a positive trend in service availability.”

The global technology outage has highlighted the heavy reliance of modern businesses on technology, as well as the potential implications of technological failure. An update on progress towards a resolution is expected later on Friday.

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