Global outage linked to Windows: Banks, airlines, and media disrupted
A global outage linked to Windows computers has disrupted banks, airlines, and media organizations. The issue stems from changes made to CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor product.
Due to blue screen errors on Windows workstations, banks, airlines, telecommunications firms, TV and radio broadcasters, and supermarkets were offline.
Major companies, including Sky News UK, Melbourne Airport, and Thameslink, were affected by the outage. CrowdStrike's subreddit reported issues in India, the U.S., and New Zealand.
Impact on Companies and Services
Sky News UK announced it was off-air on Friday morning. Sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao stated on X, "We are clearly not on air - trying to get there." Melbourne Airport noted that some airlines' check-in processes were affected and advised passengers to "allow extra time for check-in."
A major UK train company warned passengers of potential disruptions due to "widespread IT issues." Govia Thameslink Railway’s four brands – Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, and Great Northern – posted on social media: "We are experiencing widespread IT issues across our network. Our IT teams are actively working to identify the cause. We cannot access driver rosters at specific locations, which may lead to short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks. Additionally, our real-time customer information systems are also affected."
Identifying the Cause
CrowdStrike reported that blue screen errors were observed in many locations and that the issue is under investigation. The company linked the problem to its Falcon Sensor product and stated that engineering teams were working to resolve it. In a subsequent statement, CrowdStrike mentioned that engineers identified the issue as a content distribution problem and have rolled back the changes.
Australia's national cybersecurity coordinator, Michelle McGuinness, said the government believes the outage originated from a third-party software platform. "I am aware of a significant technical outage affecting many companies and services across Australia," McGuinness said.
Microsoft informed users that access to 365 cloud-based application services might be affected. The tech giant also noted a cloud outage affecting U.S. airlines on the same day but clarified that it was a separate issue.
