(Bloomberg) — Computer systems at businesses and public utilities around the world crashed after a botched update to a widely used cybersecurity program crippled Microsoft Corp.’s systems.
Most Read from Bloomberg
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. Chief Executive George Kurtz posted on X on Friday that the flaw had been identified and a “fix has been applied,” adding that it was not a cyberattack. Compounding the problem, Microsoft also reported an issue that appeared to be unrelated to its Azure cloud service.
Microsoft Cloud Software Outage: Live Updates
There have been several outages on this scale in recent years. CrowdStrike customers posted blue error screens to social media as they were unable to access their company laptops and computers. The spate of outages underscores how more businesses have moved support services and processes online in recent years, looking to cut costs or better unify global operations.
“This is unprecedented,” Alan Woodward, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Surrey, told Bloomberg News. “The economic impact is going to be huge.”
McDonald’s Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and LSE Group were among major companies citing issues ranging from communications to customer service. KLM said it was suspending most flights because of a global computer outage. They were among major global companies reporting problems with their operations.
Click here to read a live blog about the power outage.
Microsoft stated that it is “aware of an issue impacting Windows devices due to updates from third-party software platforms,” and that it is working to restore Azure services “as quickly as possible.”
The disruption weighed on several sectors, including airlines, insurance companies and stock exchange operators. CrowdStrike shares plunged 20%, while Microsoft fell 2.9%.
In 2017, a series of errors in Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud services — which, like Azure, underpin many of the world’s online platforms — disrupted the operation of tens of thousands of websites including ESPN.com.
In June 2021, an issue with Fastly’s content delivery network took down the New York Times, Reddit, Bloomberg News and UK government services for about a day. Later that year, an issue with Amazon’s AWS cloud service meant Walt Disney Co. theme park visitors couldn’t check in online, Ticketmaster delayed Adele ticket sales and no one was swiping on Tinder.
“I don’t think it’s too late to conclude: this is going to be the biggest IT outage in history,” said Troy Hunt, an Australian security consultant and creator of hacking-checking website Have I Been Pwned, in a post on social media platform X.
Australia’s AGL Energy Ltd. said in a post on X that it is currently experiencing system issues due to the CrowdStrike outage. Crowdstrike shares fell as much as 14% in early premarket trading after the outage was reported.
The first disruptions occurred in the U.S. late Thursday, and were blamed on a failure of Microsoft Azure and 365, the company’s internet-based office software. Denver-based Frontier Airlines, a unit of Frontier Group Holdings Inc., temporarily suspended flights for more than two hours. The airline lifted its nationwide suspension and resumed flights starting at 11 p.m. New York time.
–With assistance from Mayumi Negishi, Shona Ghosh, Kati Pohjanpalo, Celeste Perri and Danny Lee.
(Continuous updates)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Copyright ©2024 Bloomberg LP
