What Is CrowdStrike and How Did Its Update Cause a Global Tech Outage?
- July 19, 2024
Key Takeaways
- A defective update from CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, caused global tech outages on Friday.
- CrowdStrike provides security software to enterprise customers including major cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure, expanding the impact of the outage.
- The issue affected Microsoft’s platforms, airlines, the London Stock Exchange, media outlets, and many other businesses and organizations, including major banks.
- CrowdStrike said it identified the source of the issue and a fix has been deployed, though some businesses are still dealing with the effects of the outage.
- Shares of CrowdStrike plunged in early trading Friday following the news.
A defective update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) caused a global outage Friday in Microsoft’s ( MSFT ) platforms, affecting a wide range of organizations and businesses, including airlines, banks, the London Stock Exchange, media outlets, government agencies, and others.
CrowdStrike said it identified the source of the issue and a fix has been deployed, though some businesses are still dealing with the effects of the outage, sending shares of CrowdStrike plummeting over 10% in early trading Friday.
What You Need To Know About CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company that provides security software to customers and partners including many cloud platforms used by organizations globally. Major cloud platform providers partnered with CrowdStrike include Microsoft Azure, Alphabet’s ( GOOGL ) Google Cloud, and Amazon’s ( AMZN ) Amazon Web Services (AWS) .
These cloud platforms are also used by businesses across industries, from healthcare to financial services, telecommunications , media, and more, extending the reach of CrowdStrike’s update defect. Microsoft Azure alone serves 95% of Fortune 500 companies.
How CrowdStrike’s Update Defect Caused a Global Outage Friday
A CrowdStrike update defect caused an outage affecting customers using Windows, Microsoft’s operating system, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said around 5:45 a.m. ET Friday. The issue led to disruptions across industries, due to the wide reach of CrowdStrike’s customer base.
There was a spike in outages with Microsoft services like Xbox Live, Microsoft 365, and Teams, according to DownDetector. Some businesses affected included major banks like Bank of America ( BAC ), social media companies such as Meta ( META ), and others.
Several airports grounded flights, impacting airlines like Delta Air Lines ( DAL ), United Airlines ( UAL ), and American Airlines ( AAL ), among others. The outage also affected government agencies like the U.K.’s National Health Service.
CrowdStrike said a fix has been deployed and Microsoft reported that some Azure users have recovered, while others are still dealing with the effects of the outage.