July 25, 2024
What is CrowdStrike?
CrowdStrike is a leading cybersecurity technology company known for its innovative approach to endpoint security, threat intelligence, and cyberattack response. Founded in 2011, CrowdStrike has gained prominence with its Falcon platform, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to detect, prevent, and respond to a wide range of cyber threats in real time. The Falcon platform provides comprehensive endpoint detection and response (EDR), managed threat hunting, and incident response services, helping organizations safeguard their data and systems against sophisticated cyberattacks.
What caused the IT outage?
The main cause of the outage was an update that CrowdStrike pushed to its flagship Falcon platform, a cloud-based service intended to protect businesses from cyber-attacks and disruptions. This update contained a bug that caused approximately 8.5 million Windows machines to crash. The defective update resulted in a global outage in Microsoft’s platforms, affecting a wide range of organizations and businesses, including airlines, banks, the London Stock Exchange, media outlets, government agencies, and others.
Impacts in the UAE
Some online services provided by the UAE Government were affected, and Dubai International Airport (DXB) confirmed that their operations were temporarily impacted. UAE residents were reassured that no hacks or cyberattacks were detected during the large-scale technical failure on Friday. The UAE Cyber Security Council advised users of CrowdStrike software to be cautious with software updates.
Residents were surprised by the outage, as some shops were forced to switch to "cash-only" payments due to technical issues. Those buying groceries or refuelling their cars had to scramble for instant cash as card payments weren't working. Others were unable to withdraw from ATMs. (Source: Khaleej Times)
A wide range of industries were hit by the outage, with users confronted with "blue screens of death" that made rebooting impossible.
Clarification
The impact was extensive, affecting systems running Falcon sensor version 7.11 and above. Approximately 8.5 million devices worldwide were impacted, causing significant disruptions across various sectors, including airlines, hospitals, banks, and public infrastructure.
George Kurtz, CrowdStrike CEO, apologized: “Today was not a security or cyber incident. Our customers remain fully protected. We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption. We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are back up and they can deliver the services their customers are counting on," he said in a post on the social media platform (source: x.com).
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