• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
What caused the Microsoft IT outage that broke flights, banks and TV stations across the globe

Home> News> Tech News

Published 11:44 19 Jul 2024 GMT+1

What caused the Microsoft IT outage that broke flights, banks and TV stations across the globe

Much of the world’s infrastructure is still not working

Rikki Loftus

Rikki Loftus

The cause of the unprecedented Microsoft IT outage that grounded flights and took TV stations offline globally may finally have been explained.

The widespread computer outage affected many of the world’s biggest companies with issues being reported in many countries including the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Much of the world’s infrastructure is still not working, causing Windows computers to show a blue screen.

Flights have been grounded due to the outage (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Flights have been grounded due to the outage (David Ramos/Getty Images)

Advert

There were initial concerns that this could be cyber attack from either hostile states or criminals but UK government officials, including the UK’s Ministry of Defence, has revealed that they are not aware of any hostile involvement and are not treating it as an attack.

Still, the problems are ongoing and while experts search frantically for solutions, the cause of the mass outage has remained a mystery.

Now though, it looks like there are some possible answers as the cause begins to get more clear.

TV stations across the globe have been taken off the air (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
TV stations across the globe have been taken off the air (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Advert

The issue appears to stem from a faulty update to one of global cybersecurity company CrowdStrike‘s products.

The firm has now rolled back the update but it doesn’t help computers that have already been affected.

The difficulty faced now is to delete the file from these computers in order to restore them.

On the issue, CrowdStrike said that it is “aware of reports of crashes on Windows... relating to the Falcon sensor,” which is a software that monitors computers.

Advert

The IT outage has caused mass disruptions around the world (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The IT outage has caused mass disruptions around the world (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Speaking to the Independent, Toby Murray, who is an associate professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems at The University of Melbourne, Australia, revealed that it was a possibility that a “buggy” update could have been the cause of the outage.

He said: “CrowdStrike Falcon has been linked to this widespread outage. CrowdStrike is a global cyber security and threat intelligence company. Falcon is what is known as an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platform, which monitors the computers that it is installed on to detect intrusions - hacks - and respond to them.

“That means that Falcon is a pretty privileged piece of software in that it is able to influence how the computers it is installed on behave.

Advert

The cause of the issue appears to be due to a fault update (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
The cause of the issue appears to be due to a fault update (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

“For example, if it detects that a computer is infected with malware that is causing the computer to communicate with an attacker, then Falcon could conceivably block that communication from occurring. If Falcon is suffering a malfunction then it could be causing a widespread outage for two reasons - one: Falcon is widely deployed on many computers, and two: because of Falcon’s privileged nature.

“Falcon is a bit like anti-virus software: it is regularly updated with information about the latest online threats (so it can better detect them). We have certainly seen anti-virus updates in the past causing problems. It is possible that today’s outage may have been caused by a buggy update to Falcon.”

Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor / Mailee Osten-Tan / Stringer / Getty
Microsoft
Cybersecurity
Tech News
News
Computers

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
5 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Sam Altman could be hitting Google with the biggest threat it's faced in a decade

    OpenAI has revealed a new major project

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Users predict an 'apocalypse for websites' amid fears Google is about to 'destroy the web'

    The internet as we know it could be gone soon

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    McDonald's AI hiring bot exposes data of 64,000,000 applicants after hackers guess 'stupid' password

    The fast food giant isn't lovin' it

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman shares eerie reality of what actually happens when you search with AI

    Some people are making sure they are polite to their AI chatbot

    News
  • Microsoft sparks chaos as it announces app with up to 75,000,000 users is shutting down
  • Millions of Microsoft users warned they have just days before their password are deleted
  • Elon Musk trolls Microsoft as global IT outage causes chaos in airports and hospitals
  • Users left deeply concerned as Microsoft announces major move to a 'passwordless' world