On July 19, it became known about a massive security system failure at CrowdStrike, which affected various sectors worldwide. The issues arose not only in Ukrainian banks such as Sense Bank and companies like “Nova Poshta” and Vodafone, but also in many other foreign companies, banks, utilities, airlines, media, and telecommunications services.
Aviation Under Attack
The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States reported that airlines United Airlines and Delta Airlines suspended flights due to communication issues. Turkish Airlines and several airports in the UK were also affected.
TV Channels and Media Outages
The British TV channel SkyNews was disconnected from the network due to the global failure. The Indian news channel Times Now reported that the problem was caused by a “recent CrowdStrike update.” Issues also arose in airports in Spain.
BSOD Error for Windows Users
Windows users worldwide are encountering the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error, also related to the CrowdStrike update. The company issued a warning about significant issues affecting Windows systems.
McDonald’s Restaurants and Hotels in Crisis
Approximately a third of McDonald’s restaurants in Japan have ceased operations due to issues related to CrowdStrike. In hotels like the Ocean Park Marriott in Hong Kong, staff are forced to use paper and pens to register guests.
Banking Problems
South African bank Capitec is facing systemic issues, although card payments are still working. In Israel, the problem also affected the banking system, as confirmed by the Central Bank.
Failures in Brokerage Companies
Operations of some major brokerage firms in India were also affected. 5Paisa reported disruptions due to a “global outage at Crowdstrike/Microsoft,” while leading broker Angel One reported “intermittent issues.”
Surgeries Cancelled
Due to malfunctioning medical equipment coordinated over the internet and integrated with computers, scheduled surgeries in Western Europe were canceled en masse for the day. Whether this led to fatal consequences is currently unknown, but if people requiring urgent surgical intervention were not assisted, it is clear that this could not end well.
CrowdStrike’s Response
IT security firm Crowdstrike, which caused the outage, released a recorded phone message stating that they are aware of issues in the Microsoft Windows operating system related to the Falcon sensor. “Thank you for contacting Crowdstrike support. Crowdstrike is aware of reports of issues in Windows… related to the Falcon sensor,” the pre-recorded message said.
Recovery Progress in Ukraine
Recall that last year there was an outage on “Kyivstar” services: the website and app were not working, and users complained of disruptions in communication in various regions.
By the way, Ukraine is quickly recovering. By this measure, it outpaces most countries in the world, despite the state of war and a host of other issues, ongoing cyberattacks from Russia, and other challenges. Perhaps the speed of reaction has already been honed through constant testing and the practice of finding crisis solutions practically daily.
