A problem with cybersecurity company CrowdStrike’s (CRWD) software caused computer systems running Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows platform to crash on Friday, bringing businesses to a complete stop.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz linked the issue to “a defect found in a single content update for Microsoft Windows hosts,” which affected a wide range of systems, including emergency services systems in Alaska, grocery store chains, and airlines.
On the news, CrowdStrike’s stock plummeted more than 12% in premarket trade. Microsoft’s stock fell by more than 1%. CrowdStrike offers cybersecurity solutions to business clients worldwide.
CrowdStrike is becoming well-known, but not in a positive way. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives stated in a note to clients on Friday that “even though the disturbance will take some time to fade, it won’t change the positive long-term view of CrowdStrike or [the] cybersecurity sector.””In a nutshell, this is [a] PR nightmare for CrowdStrike and Microsoft and others [to] get caught in this tornado along with millions of people currently stranded at airports around the globe,” he stated.
The extensive effects of the outage indicate how widely used Crowdstrike is becoming in a variety of industries and establishments. As per the cybersecurity company, its software is presently utilized by over 50% of Fortune 500 firms, which includes 8 out of the top 10 financial institutions and around 43 US states.
Kurtz stated, “We’re deeply sorry for the impact we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone impacted by this, including our company,” on Friday in an interview with The Today Show. According to him, a solution is being implemented to resolve the issue and restore computer functionality.
But the damage was already done.
Because carriers were forced to ground planes due to the outage, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, for example, advised customers not to visit local airports unless they received confirmation that their flights were still scheduled to depart. Both non-emergency call centers and 911 went down in Alaska. While bankers at companies like JPMorgan were unable to access their computers, Sky News in the UK was unable to provide live news.
Kurtz claims that CrowdStrike released a patch for the bug, which started to be distributed to its clients globally. As the update was applied to different systems, computers began to come back up, although it might take some time for the complete issue to be fixed.