A global IT outage has caused chaos at airports, banks, railways, and businesses worldwide, affecting millions of people. This significant incident has been linked to a software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, leading to one of the most widespread IT crashes ever.
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
Impact on Airlines and Airports
Air transport was severely affected, with flights grounded in the US and Europe. Major airlines like American Airlines, Delta, and Ryanair experienced significant disruptions. Ryanair’s website advised passengers: “Potential disruptions across the network (Fri 19 July) due to a global third party system outage … We advise passengers to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions.” Berlin airport temporarily halted all flights, and Melbourne airport faced check-in procedure issues, advising customers it was “experiencing a global technology issue.”
We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage which is out of our control. We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time.
Cont’d in comments…
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) July 19, 2024
A passenger at Gatwick airport, the UK’s second largest, described the scene as “bedlam” with staff handing out water to those stranded.
NHS and Other Critical Services Hit
In the UK, the NHS GP booking system went offline, causing difficulties for GP practices in accessing patient records. Surgeries reported being unable to access the EMIS Web system, although NHS hospitals were unaffected. The National Pharmacy Association also confirmed that UK services could be affected. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – parent company of Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, and Great Northern – warned passengers to expect delays.
A hospital source said that systems reported as affected so far included IT service desks, transport booking systems, radiology reporting, rostering systems, voice recognition software, the NHS App. Systems were not entirely down and not every hospital and/or patient affected.
— Hugh Pym (@BBCHughPym) July 19, 2024
The Role of Crowdstrike’s Software Update
Experts have linked the global IT outage to Crowdstrike’s Falcon Sensor, a cybersecurity product that monitors large networks of PCs. Alan Woodward, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Surrey, said, “The product is used by large organisations that have significant numbers of PCs to ensure everything is monitored. Sadly if they lose all the PCs, they can’t operate or only at a much reduced service level.” The software update reportedly caused the widespread failure, requiring manual intervention to fix each affected PC.
Senad Arun, founder of cyber research company Imperum, described the incident as “Crowdstrike Doom’s Day.”
Due to an unexpected issue with an international service provider, we are currently experiencing nationwide service disruptions.
Note: Card payments & Capitec ATMs are working & your account remains secure.
We're resolving the matter asap. We apologise for the inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/u8rfg2rIyT
— Capitec (@CapitecBankSA) July 19, 2024
Microsoft’s Involvement
Microsoft confirmed it was investigating issues related to its services and apps, with many users unable to access popular services. The company’s service health website noted significant service degradation, warning of “service degradation” that meant users may not be able to access many of the company’s most popular services, used by millions of businesses and people around the world.
Expert Insights and Recovery Efforts
Cybersecurity experts, including Alan Woodward, noted that the recovery from this outage could take days, with manual fixes required for each affected PC. “The major frustration is that to fix the issue will require manual intervention on every affected PC. That will mean enormous delays in recovering and hence disruption for days to come,” Woodward added. The incident, while not a cyber-attack, highlighted vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure.
Statements from Affected Parties
Various organizations, including the UK’s transport secretary Louise Haigh and Australia’s home affairs minister Clare O’Neil, issued statements. Haigh noted, “We are aware of IT failures impacting several transport operators and terminals today, and we’re working at pace with industry and across government on the issue.
We are aware of IT failures impacting several transport operators and terminals today, and we’re working at pace with industry and across Government on the issue.
There are no known security issues at present.
— Louise Haigh (@LouHaigh) July 19, 2024
There are no known security issues at present.” O’Neil added, “Crowdstrike attended the meeting and we can confirm there is no evidence that this is a cyber-security incident. This is a technical issue, caused by a Crowdstrike update to its customers.”
Govt departments are working seamlessly together to understand the nature of today’s outages and respond appropriately and swiftly. https://t.co/tKkfSGUNrk
— Peter Kyle (@peterkyle) July 19, 2024
What Are Your Thoughts on This Incident?
The global IT outage has exposed significant vulnerabilities in our IT infrastructure and has caused widespread disruption. What steps do you think should be taken to prevent such incidents in the future? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
