Cybersecurity experts are calling it the biggest IT outage in the history of the world. On Friday morning, some 8.5 million Windows devices around the world experienced a so-called blue screen of death (BSOD) and crashed due to a corrupted update from cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike. according to That’s less than 1% of all Windows machines, according to Microsoft vice president David Weston. But “the widespread economic and societal impacts are reflected in CrowdStrike’s use by companies that run many essential services, including ATMs, banks and hospitals.” It also caused travel disruption; here in Japan, the situation wasn’t as bad, but some trains and airlines were affected.
Jetstar Airways canceled around 20 domestic flights on July 19 due to a power outage. With its computers down, Jetstar staff at Fukuoka Airport resorted to taking out pens and writing passengers’ names and destinations by hand on their boarding passes. Japan Airlines’ website was temporarily unavailable to book, reserve or cancel both domestic and international flights. At Narita Airport, Hong Kong Express and Jeju Air also experienced system failures. Meanwhile, West Japan Railway Company’s website and app were unable to display train operating status.
McDonald’s and Universal Studios Japan also affected by CrowdStrike outage
Travel wasn’t the only thing affected in Japan. Around 30% of McDonald’s locations nationwide were closed due to a malfunction in their cash registers. The outage also affected the cash registers at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. As a result, almost all restaurants and stores in the park were forced to close temporarily. Luckily for visitors, rides and other attractions were not affected. While it was mostly businesses that experienced the dreaded BSOD, individuals were also affected, such as Masahiro Sakurai, a video game director and designer who is known as the creator of the game “Star Wars.” Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series.
