Windows OS failure has caused disruptions around the world
Source: Surface, Unsplash
Numerous institutions around the world, including hospitals, major banks, media outlets, and airlines, reported massive IT system failures that affected their ability to provide services. International airports in India, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the United States experienced problems, and several airlines canceled flights and reported delays.
Emergency services were also affected, with some hospitals shutting down and the state of Alaska warning of potential disruptions to its 911 system. Crowdstrike confirmed that the global outage was caused by its faulty software update for Microsoft Windows.
"The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," Crowdstrike said in a statement, clarifying that it was not a cyberattack. "We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels."
Many broadcasters in Australia and the United Kingdom experienced disruptions to their airwaves. Several supermarkets were also affected, with payment systems not functioning. Hospitals in Germany and Israel reported disruptions, as did general practitioners in the UK.
Travelers around the world faced problems as airports, taxis and railways simply couldn't make reservations and payments. Airports in Europe, the US and Southeast Asia reported system failures, and many passengers had to manually complete processes that are normally automated.
