Summary

There was a worldwide computer outage in the early morning hours of 19 Jul 2024. Initial remediation took most of the day. This page provides some commentary and news about the outage. Additional information will be provided when available.

Timing

The mayor of Portland was notified of the outage impacting their city at midnight and again at 1AM. By 3AM the mayor of Portland declared a state of emergency.

In New York City, some agencies began noticing issues around 12:30 AM, but broader services did not seem to be impacted.

Cause and Blame

The problem is being blamed on cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and a bug with a recent update that caused Windows computers to have a blue screen error. George Kurtz, the CEO of CrowdStrike, is accepting blame. [Source]

That simplified assessment helps ease concerns and get the story quickly through the news cycle with as few questions as possible.

Leadership

A good leader takes the blame for their areas of responsibility. CrowdSource CEO, George Kurtz, exemplified this strength. Kurtz went above and beyond by not placing any shared blame on Microsoft for having a fragile operating system or the users for not keeping their Windows updates current. This is a shared problem, with shared responsibility, and shared solutions.

Deeper Problem

The broader more alarming issue is the fragility of Microsoft Windows. We have all seen similar system failures after Microsoft’s own Windows updates are installed and the operating system gets corrupted in some way resulting in a computer that won’t start.

This is compounded by the fact that the system repair and recovery options are not always successful. This becomes very time consuming since several repair options are available in varying degrees of severity, including an option to erase the computer and perform a fresh Windows installation. Usually people begin with the least severe recovery option, and when that fails, they try the next repair option. After a long time of waiting while the computer says, “Your system is repairing please wait” a message may appear that says, “We’re sorry. The repair couldn’t complete. Please wait while changes are rolled back.”

So, the deeper problem is with Microsoft Windows.

If someone drops a cotton ball on your car, and the car stops running. The blame could be placed on the cotton ball. However, the deeper problem is that the car was not well built.

Windows should be better at self-recovering from updates, bugs, power outages, file corruption, and other software issues.

Impact

Some businesses in the following industries and services were taken down worldwide:

• Air Travel
• Banks and Banking Apps
• Broadcast and News Agencies
• Credit Card Payment Systems
• Emergency 911 Services
• Enterprise-Scale Businesses
• Grocery Stores
• Hospitals
• Justice Department – FBI, U.S. Marshalls, ATF, and other law enforcement agencies.
• Law Enforcement
• Local Courts
• Street Light Control Systems

Prevention

Because of the severity of this recent outage, consideration is being given to how such incidents can be avoided in the future. Here are some suggestions:

• As a provider of software and services, fully test updates before rolling them out. For example, if an update would cause most computers to crash, a test of the update would reveal the problem. Companies typically test software and updates on various brands and models of computers to identify any problems that could be limited to only some systems.
• As a provider of software and services, whenever possible, roll out updates in phases. Do not push out updates at scale, but instead let users choose when updates are to be installed.
• As an IT support professional, maintain redundancy for the systems you oversee. Have extra computers that are ready to use if primary systems fail. Establish co-location facilities.
• Maintain regular backups in case a system failure results in unrecoverable data loss.
• Remove software that was included with your computer that isn’t needed, such as games or trial versions of software and services.
• Remove programs you have added for testing or use that are no longer needed.
• Remove redundant antivirus programs since they may conflict or cause issues.
• Update Windows and software frequently to ensure the latest patches and security updates are installed.

News

Selected reports are below selected based on source and length of report. An effort has been made to avoid repetitive information. Times are listed as HHMM in Central Time.

ABC News Australia (20 Jul 2024)

If the video below does not show up, view it on YouTube. [View]

“Microsoft: 8.5 million computers failed during CrowdStrike global outage” — Microsoft has estimated around 8.5 million computers failed during a global outage caused by CrowdStrike’s corrupted software update. The number accounts for 1 per cent of Windows computers worldwide. The ANU’s Johanna Weaver says the Australian government delivered a swift response despite complaints about the six-hour outage affecting businesses across the country. [Source]

CBS New York (20 Jul 2024)

“CrowdStrike glitch being called ‘largest IT outage in history'” — Things are starting to return to normal a day after a CrowdStrike software update set off a global Microsoft computer outage. [Source]

Channel 4 (20 Jul 2024 at ~1230)

“CrowdStrike: World’s biggest IT outage continues to cause global chaos” — CrowdStrike, the cyber-security company that has acquired a certain infamy after admitting responsibility for the IT outage that has upended services across the globe, is warning of “bad actors” trying to take advantage of the chaos. Cyber agencies in both the UK and Australia have urged people to be alert to fake emails or calls. [Source]

CBS (20 Jul 2024 at ~0830)

“Recovery continues after global computer outage” — Companies are seeing signs of recovery this morning after a worldwide computer outage disrupted systems for air travel, health care, banking and more. [Source]

Al Jazeera (20 Jul 2024 at 0803)

“Worldwide computer systems failure: Airports, banks, supermarkets & networks affected” — It was early Friday afternoon in Australia when the first signs of trouble emerged in retail outlets, banks and on television. A news broadcast reporting the situation went to black, resuming, eventually, to reveal blue screens in the background, indicating the dreaded shutdown of a windows operating system. [Source]

BBC (20 Jul 2024 at ~0630)

“CrowdStrike IT outage continues to cause global disruption” — A massive tech failure that caused chaos around the world on Friday is continuing to cause disruption into the weekend. [Source]

DW (20 Jul 2024 at ~0400)

“Global IT outage: How one software update could go so wrong” — Global computer systems are slowly coming back online after a massive tech outage caused chaos and confusion around the world. From broadcasters to banks, stock exchanges, and airlines. The outage also affected health care systems, with many hospitals forced to cancel surgeries. The head of the cyber-security firm which caused the crisis says he’s deeply sorry for the disruptions, which were traced back to a flawed software update. [Source]

Fox (20 Jul 2024 at 0215)

“Elon Musk ditches CrowdStrike amid global outage” — FOX Business correspondent Lydia Hu reports on a global tech outage hitting airports, hospitals and even some emergency services. [Source]

CBC (19 Jul 2024 at ~2200)

“How the CrowdStrike-Microsoft global tech outage unfolded” — The National explains how a CrowdStrike software update crashed Microsoft Windows, triggering a tech outage that disrupted industries around the world. Ian Hanomansing asks cybersecurity expert Ritesh Kotek to break down how a similar outage could be prevented. [Source]

PBS (19 Jul 2024 at ~1900)

“How a faulty software update sparked tech disruptions worldwide” — A tech outage around the globe halted flights, disrupted emergency services and created headaches for businesses. The underlying problems behind the glitch were fixed by Friday afternoon, but the ripple effects lasted throughout the day and may continue into the weekend. William Brangham discussed what went wrong and the risks with Bruce Schneier, an expert in computer security and technology. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1801)

“Critical infrastructure and airports getting back online after massive tech outage” — Hospitals, airports and critical businesses are all dealing with the tech meltdown after a global outage from Crowdstrike and Microsoft. NBC’s Tom Costello reports on how the Crowdstrike stock tanked after the outage, and the high likelihood that the lost business will cause lawsuits. [Source]

BBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1725)

“Global IT chaos – CrowdStrike boss warns return to normal will take time” — The boss of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike has said he is “deeply sorry” for the global IT chaos caused by a flawed software update to Microsoft’s Windows operating system which was provided by his company. [Source]

Yahoo Finance (19 Jul 2024 at 1717)

“How a CrowdStrike update knocked out systems globally” — An update from cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike (CRWD) is causing chaos worldwide as airlines, hospital systems, businesses, and banks face massive disruptions from the outage. Yahoo Finance Tech Editor Dan Howley joins Market Domination to discuss the fallout and how affected companies are handling the outage. [Source]

CBS New York (19 Jul 2024 at ~1700)

“How the global IT outage impacted New York City and the Tri-State Area” — A global tech outage brought businesses to a halt Friday. It crippled operations, everything from hospitals and banks to small businesses and airports. CBS New York has team coverage from Tim McNicholas, Jennifer Bisram, Carolyn Gusoff and John Dias. [Source]

WKBW (19 Jul 2024 at ~1700)

“The world continues to recover from major tech outage” — As the world continues to recover from the major tech outage, we hear from New York’s Chief Cyber Officer and a former FBI agent who is now a cyber expert. [Source]

ABC (19 Jul 2024 at 1642)

“CrowdStrike has solution to IT outage, but everything still not back to normal” — John Dwyer, the director of security research at cybersecurity firm Binary Defense, says a final solution will require a significant amount of manual effort to implement. [Source]

Philadelphia (19 Jul 2024 at 1637)

“Global IT outage impacts operations across Philadelphia” — The global IT outage overnight impacted operations at Philadelphia businesses, city services and the airport. [Source]

Orlando (19 Jul 2024 at 1629)

“Internet outage: Airlines, businesses, border crossings hit by global tech disruption” — Businesses and governments worldwide experienced hours-long disruptions Friday as a widespread technology outage affected services across industries. Flights were grounded, and numerous hospitals, small businesses, and government offices were disrupted. [Source]

Detroit (19 Jul 2024 at 1607)

“Hundreds of flights canceled due to tech outage” — Much of the world faced online disarray Friday as a widespread technology outage affected companies and services across industries — grounding flights, knocking banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1448)

“Massive tech outage grounds flights, knocks banks offline, and more” — A faulty update to cybersecurity software knocked computers offline across industries and across the globe Friday. [Source]

Yahoo (19 Jul 2024 at 1446)

“How the global IT outage is impacting you” — A recent CrowdStrike (CRWD) update caused a global outage that impacted Microsoft Windows (MSFT) systems across multiple industries. The incident has affected or even halted operations in banking, airline operators, and even emergency services around the world. [Source]

CBS KPIX (19 Jul 2024 at 1440)

“Effects of Microsoft outages felt across numerous industries, travel impacted” — Microsoft outages linked to the company CrowdStrike impacted computers across the world on Friday, leading to major disruptions in travel and other sectors. Veronica Macias reports on the impacts at San Francisco International Airport. [Source]

ABC (19 Jul 2024 at 1439)

“Here’s what critical Bay Area infrastructure has been impacted by global IT outage” — The crippling CrowdStrike tech outage brought down computer networks for businesses, governments, and airports across the globe and has disrupted many critical services in the Bay Area. [Source]

Channel 4 (19 Jul 2024 at 1418)

“CrowdStrike: How an IT outage caused worldwide havoc” — Flights were cancelled, trains delayed, shop tills stopped working and TV stations went off the air. All because of a faulty upgrade to a cyber security software system which triggered a global meltdown. [Source]

CBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1404)

“How a cybersecurity update caused a worldwide IT outage” — It looked like a simple cybersecurity update, but CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor software caused global disruptions that impacted everything from airlines and banks to broadcasters and hospitals. Shaanan Cohney, assistant professor in cybersecurity at the University of Melbourne, explains what went wrong. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1353)

“Global tech outage: Timelapse shows flight traffic before, after outage” — The global outage that stemmed from a glitchy update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike majorly disrupted air travel early Friday morning. Operations resumed later in the morning. [Source]

CNBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1345)

“Citi Research’s Stephen Trent on global outage impact on airlines” — Stephen Trent, Citi Research airline analyst, joins ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss the impact of CrowdStrike’s IT outage on the airline industry and more. [Source]

Bloomberg (19 Jul 2024 at 1337)

“McAfee EVP: Our Industry Will Learn From This Outage” — Steve Grobman, executive vice president and chief technology officer at McAfee, joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow to break down what happened when a botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems globally, and how the firm is helping the industry navigate it. He speaks on “Bloomberg Technology.” [Source]

Al Jazeera (19 Jul 2024 at 1330)

“Global IT outage causes chaos, disrupting airlines, banks, media, telecoms” — A massive technology outage has disrupted businesses and institutions in multiple countries, throwing airports, airlines, rail companies, government services, banks, stock exchanges, supermarkets, telecoms, health systems and media outlets into chaos. [Source]

KGW (19 Jul 2024 at 1330)

“Portland mayor discusses CrowdStrike outage” — Mayor Ted Wheeler is holding a news conference after announcing a state of emergency due to the global outage’s impacts on city systems. [Source]

CNBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1328)

“Evercore’s Levine on global IT outage: This event clearly proves that cyber needs to be diversified” — Peter Levine, Evercore ISI enterprise software analyst, and BlackCloak CEO Chris Pierson join ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss CrowdStrike’s global tech outage, what this event means for the global business, and more. [Source]

CBS (19 Jul 2024 at 1130)

“Microsoft outage disrupts NYC airports & services” — A CrowdStrike glitch disrupted air travel, health care, banking and other businesses worldwide. CBS New York’s Cindy Hsu, Tim McNicholas, Jennifer Bisram and Christine Sloan have team coverage of the impact to New York City. [Source]

ABC (19 Jul 2024 at 1119)

“Some government agencies impacted by global tech outage” — Friday’s outage has affected social security offices, airlines and banks around the world. [Source]

CBS (19 Jul 2024 at 1114)

“Global IT outage affecting Microsoft after issue with CrowdStrike software update” — A global IT outage is crippling Microsoft computer systems around the world. It all stemmed from a system update by the tech company CrowdStrike, and disrupted air travel, hospitals, and many other businesses. [Source]

Bloomberg (19 Jul 2024 at 1113)

“Bay and Wall Street shrug off tech outage” — John Zechner, chairman and founder of J. Zechner Associates, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the financial reaction to the tech outage. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at ~1100)

“CrowdStrike engineers release expedited fix for outage” — For those still trying to recover from a massive technology outage, CrowdStrike engineers released a quick fix to their software glitch behind the crash. Scott McGrew reports. [Source]

The Hill (19 Jul 2024 at 1048)

“CrowdStrike GLOBAL Outage STRIKES CHAOS On Banks and Airlines” — Niall Stanage and Nayyera Haq react to the massive tech glitch at Crowdstrike that affected companies worldwide a millions of people. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1044)

“A major IT outage impacts flights at LAX” — A global Microsoft outage has been affecting flights at LAX, frustrating travelers. Annette Arreola reports for the NBC4 News at 6 a.m. on July 19, 2024. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1025)

“CNET breaks down CrowdStrike’s failed update that led to global outage” — CNET’s European Tech News Correspondent Katie Collins explains how the cyber security company update pushed an alert to Windows PCs to a blue screen of endless rebooting causing chaos worldwide. [Source]

NBC (19 Jul 2024 at 1012)

“Crowdstrike CEO says single content update caused massive outage” — The head of Crowdstrike, the company responsible for an update that took millions of people offline, said Friday the massive global outage was not a cyberattack nor a security incident. Kris Sanchez reports. [Source]

Initial Reports

Fox 29 Philadelphia (19 Jul 2024 ~0900)

“Tech outage: Here’s how to fix the dreaded ‘Blue Screen of Death'” — Growing outages in services at Visa, ADT security and Amazon, and airlines including American Airlines and Delta have been reported. Here’s what Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said about the issue. [Source]

TODAY (19 Jul 2024 ~0826)

“Worldwide computer outage impacts business, airports” — A global computer outage is halting businesses, grounding planes and creating work stoppages after something went wrong with a software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. NBC’s Tom Costello reports for TODAY. [Source]

TODAY (19 Jul 2024 ~0800)

“CrowdStrike CEO: ‘We know what the issue is’ and are resolving it” — George Kurtz, the CEO of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, joins TODAY to share details on what caused a massive computer outage that impacted different industries around the world. “We know what the issue is,” he says, adding they’re in the process of resolving it. [Source]

CBC (19 Jul 2024 ~0700)

“Global IT outage disrupting airlines, banks and health-care systems, among other operations.” — A global tech outage caused by global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike’s Falcon Sensor software is disrupting operations in multiple industries on Friday. Airlines are halting flights, some broadcasters are off-air and everything from banking to health care has been hit by system problems. [Source]

CNN (19 Jul 2024 ~0700)

“Global tech outage hits airlines and businesses” — All flights from several major US airlines, including Delta, United and American Airlines, were grounded Friday morning due to a communication issue – part of a massive debacle impacting businesses worldwide. The technical crisis is also affecting international airlines as well as mass transit in New York and Washington, DC; banking in Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, Hong Kong Disneyland and the Israeli health service. [Source]

NBC News (19 Jul 2024 ~ 0600)

“Special report: Major computer outages occur worldwide” — Watch the full special report on a massive global technical outage tied to CrowdStrike. This cyber security provider has knocked critical computer infrastructure offline nationwide and worldwide. [Source]

CBS (19 Jul 2024 ~0500)

“Extended coverage: Microsoft outage impacting NYC area flights, but mass transit still running” — A Microsoft outage is impacting airlines and dozens of flights in the New York City area, but subways and other trains are running as normal. CBS New York has live team coverage. [Source]