Feeling Like It's Y2K: IT Outage Sparks Blue Screen Of Death Worldwide
Maybe putting everything on the cloud to save a few bucks wasn´t such a good idea
Feeling Like It's Y2K": IT Outage Sparks "Blue Screen Of Death" Worldwide
BY TYLER DURDEN
FRIDAY, JUL 19, 2024 - 11:23 AM
Update (1055ET):
Bloomberg reports IT disruptions could impact FedEx and United Parcel Service deliveries today:
FedEx is seeing "substantial disruptions throughout our networks" due to the third-party issues, it said in a statement on its website. The company is implementing contingency plans but said delays are likely for parcels scheduled for delivery Friday.
UPS said in a separate statement that some of its computer systems are being affected, and it is also looking at workarounds to minimize interruptions. Its planes continue to operate, and drivers are still on the road.
This follows Amazon's annual Prime Day shopping event this week.
* * *
Update (1023ET):
With the US cash market underway, shares of CrowdStrike are down about 10%, while Microsoft lost about half a percent. CrowdStrike confirmed earlier its Falcon Sensor threat-monitoring product sparked worldwide chaos and crashed Microsoft's Windows operating systems.
CrowdStrike
Microsoft
"Friday's global tech outage is an example of an unforeseen event that market participants always fear, but don't frequently think about," said Glen Smith, chief investment officer at GDS Wealth Management, who Bloomberg quoted.
Smith said, "While there are sizable declines in the stocks of the individual companies that are closest to this tech outage, we expect the broader markets to look past Friday's outage."
Earlier, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on X that the company is "actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted."
The company stated the problem has been "identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed."
For some, the worldwide IT outage seemed a little "like Y2K, except it actually happened this time."
McDonald's and United Airlines Holding were some mega-corps affected by the outage.
"The severity of the problem boils down to how long it lasts," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, adding, "A few hours' disruption is unhelpful but not a catastrophe. Prolonged disruption is another matter, potentially causing damage to companies and economies."
For US travelers, the IT outage sparked widespread flight delays and even cancellations at major airports across the Lower 48.
Flight tracking website FlightAware reports nearly 1,500 flights have been delayed, with 385 canceled flights.
"The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at US airlines," the federal agency wrote in a statement, adding, "Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops for their fleets until the issue is resolved."
Also, folks are saying today should be called 'International Blue Screen Day' ...
So much for remote workers.
CrowdStrike has confirmed: "This is not a security incident or cyberattack."
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Early Friday, a global IT outage caused by an issue with cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike disrupted flights, banks, retailers, stock exchanges, 911 call centers, and media outlets. Experts say this could be one of the largest IT outages in modern history.
Bloomberg reported that CrowdStrike warned customers that its Falcon Sensor threat-monitoring product was the source of the chaos, causing Microsoft's Windows operating system to crash. There was no mention of what triggered the issue, and there were reports of disruptions in Microsoft's Azure cloud and 365 Office software.
"We're aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform," Microsoft said in a statement, adding, "We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming."
Alan Woodward, professor of cybersecurity at Surrey University, told Bloomberg this global outage is "unprecedented" and warned "the economic impact will be huge."
Australian web security consultant Troy Hunt wrote on X, "I don’t think it’s too early to call it: this will be the largest IT outage in history."
Following the news, Microsoft shares slid 2% in premarket trading. Meanwhile, Crowdstrike tumbled as much as 14%.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on X that the company is "actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted."
"This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," Kurtz said.
He added, "We further recommend organizations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers."
The first disruptions were reported in the overnight hours and have since become global.
Major disruptions are listed below:
More specifically, in the US, the FAA said the airlines United, American, Delta, and Allegiant had all been grounded.
Whoops.
Bloomberg provides more color on the individual companies suffering from the global IT outage:
On Friday, McDonald's Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc., and the LSE Group were among the major companies to disclose a variety of issues with communications to customer service. KLM said it was suspending most flights because of a global computer outage. They were among the more prominent global corporations to report issues with their operations.
On the disruption, Musk comments with "..."
Adding.
Sigh.
She has a point.
Bitcoin still worked during disruption.
*Developing..
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/largest-it-outage-history-sparks-disruptions-worldwide