A major Microsoft Windows Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) outage has struck numerous companies worldwide, including airlines, broadcasters, and various other organizations. The issue was traced back to a faulty update from security giant CrowdStrike, which forced PCs and servers into an unrecoverable boot loop. Although the update has since been rolled back, many machines remain affected.
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In a pinned Reddit post, CrowdStrike stated, “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions. [We have] identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes.” The company outlined a workaround involving booting Windows into Safe Mode and deleting a specific driver.
The outage has had significant repercussions, grounding flights for airlines such as Delta and Frontier and disrupting operations for UK broadcaster Sky and the London Stock Exchange. On Reddit, numerous users reported their companies were effectively offline due to the problem.
12-hour timelapse of American Airlines, Delta, and United plane traffic after what was likely the biggest IT outage in history forced a nationwide ground stop of the three airlines. pic.twitter.com/wwcQeiEtVe
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 19, 2024
“Even if [CrowdStrike] fixed the issue causing the BSOD, I’m thinking how are we going to restore the thousands of devices that are not booting up,” one user commented. Another added, “Let me explain to someone who is not tech-savvy and is working from home how to boot their machine into safe mode.”
IT managers from Australia, Malaysia, Japan, India, the Czech Republic, and other regions shared their struggles with the issue. One user from the Philippines remarked, “Here in the Philippines, specifically in my employer, it is like Thanos snapped his fingers. Half of the entire organization [is] down due to BSOD loop. Started at 2pm and is still ongoing. What a Friday.”
CrowdStrike, a US-based security firm known for its real-time threat protection products, including Falcon, acknowledged the incident. A spokesperson noted that the issue was likely tied to Falcon. CEO George Kurtz confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the problem stemmed from a defect in a content update for Windows hosts, clarifying it was not a “security incident or cyberattack.” Kurtz added that the issue had been identified, isolated, and fixed, though it remains unclear if the fix can resolve machines stuck in the boot loop. He also noted that Mac and Linux hosts are unaffected.
Adding to the chaos, Microsoft experienced a separate outage affecting its Azure services and Microsoft 365 app suite. The company stated, “Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.” It is currently unknown if this outage is related to the CrowdStrike problem.
Update July 19, 2024, 6:12 AM ET: CrowdStrike’s official blog mirrored Kurtz’s statement, yet an apology from the company remains absent.
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Source: Engadget
