Windows/CrowdStrike outage recap: Today's 'Blue Screen of Death' error explained

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Today, an ongoing IT outage global in scale caused widespread disruptions to everything from airlines to TV networks and banks. The issue was caused by a reported error with CrowdStrike's security software, plunging Windows PCs, servers, and enterprise terminals into chaos.

What is CrowdStrike?

CrowdStrike, the name at the center of Friday's widespread IT issues, isn't a virus or cyber threat.

On the contrary, CrowdStrike is a security company tasked with preventing internet breaches against some of the world's largest companies — including Microsoft, which uses the brand's Falcon software as a part of the Windows platform.

An update to the Falcon software is responsible for today's issues and a fix has been deployed to hopefully resolve the error.

The outage, initially surfacing after widespread reports from Australia, is now impacting users across the UK and Europe, with those in the US waking up to find similar issues in what may be the biggest global IT outage in history.

Impacted devices became "bricked" on Friday morning, locking down with the "Blue Screen of Death" (BSoD), the infamous screen Windows shows when it encounters a critical error.

The CrowdStrike outage, which is still ongoing at the time of writing, is so widespread that the disruptions affected everything from major TV networks to local businesses.

Interruptions at larger organizations, like banks and credit card companies, trickled down to these smaller businesses, leading some to close for the day or resort to cash-only transactions recorded on pen and paper.

While these errors are unlikely to directly affect personal computers, you also may experience trickle-down effects of businesses currently being impacted by today's outage. For example, many people reported having difficulties accessing online bank and credit card accounts on Friday morning.

Airlines seem to have been most affected with flight disruptions reportedly taking place around the globe, with Delta, United, and American Airlines grounding flights in the US over reported communication issues.

CrowdStrike has released instructions for users to resolve the issue, but it could still take days or even weeks for businesses and organizations to fully recover.

Windows/CrowdStrike outage: Quick summary

• A global computing issue has impacted businesses, services, airlines, TV networks, and banks in what may be the largest IT outage in recent history.
  

• Security analysts suspect an update to CrowdStrike's Falcon software to be the likely cause of the ongoing outage.
  

• Windows computers, servers, and terminals are being hampered by Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) errors for the issue 'DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER'
  

• The outage currently affects everything from entire TV networks to small businesses that rely on larger companies such as banks or credit providers for transactions.
  

• A fix has been deployed, but problems remain as the world plays catch-up to the effects of the fault.

A global outage puts banks, TV stations, stores, airlines, and more into disarray

In what some have called the biggest IT outage in years, Americans are waking up to a world in disarray as businesses and services struggle to recover from a global issue that has resulted in Windows workstations and terminals showing 'DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER' Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) errors.

Airlines hit hard as flights are grounded amid communication issues

Airlines from China to India and the US have all seen major disruptions, with Delta, United, and American Airlines all grounding planes due to reported communication issues.

An image shared by Future Publishing Exec Kevin Addley shows the BSoD issue currently impacting display boards, causing delays and disruptions at JFK airport — a situation many seeking to travel today may become familiar with unless the issue is quickly resolved and its after effects resolved.

Stores struggle in the wake of CrowdStrike outage

Today's ongoing issue was first reported in Australia, though the outage continued to grow as Europe, the UK, and eventually the US all began suffering from the same service disruptions.

Even stores have been impacted by the outage, with this scene from Australia showing self service machines locked into a BSoD.

Worldwide disruption for internet services

Online service tracker DownDetector reports numerous spikes and rises in reported services disruptions across multiple businesses, with banking, communication, and cloud services being among the most impacted.

CrowdStrike comment on Microsoft Windows outage

In a statement sent by email, CrowdStrike confirmed that the fault had ben identified, saying it was "actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts."

CrowdStrike went on to confirm that its services were secure and that a fix was inbound, stating: "This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed."

CrowdStrike issue steps to resolve issue to affected businesses

CrowdStrike has contacted customers to inform them of actions they can take to workaround the ongoing outage. Though as some have pointed out, CrowdStrike's process won't be a simple set maneuvers for all, meaning we can't expect full recovery a once.

Today's outage could have severe knock-on effects, and should raise plenty of questions about the widespread adoption and reliance on a single source for such vital software.

As a fix is deployed, how long will the outage continue?

With the widespread outage having touched almost every service and business associated with CrowdStrike, even after normal service resumes, there'll be a considerable disruption to regular services as companies begin to play catch up from the day's troubles.

While it appears that several services are returning to working order, airlines will likely be among he industries left reeling from the disruption as flights seek to resume as normal and passengers look for updates on delayed journeys.

US services prepare for CrowdStrike fallout

While companies like Microsoft report that its services are back up and running, other companies prepare for continued disruption throughout the day. Columbia Gas of Ohio are playing things safe, asking customers to avoid using its app or website to report issues or problems and instead call in to report potentially dangerous or harmful issues.

Even TV stations were impacted by the Windows/CrowdStrike outage

While business and services have been mostly affected, in the UK, media outlet Sky News encountered disruptions lasting for nearly three hours. The TV channel has since recovered as more and more of today's disruption is cleared.

CrowdStrike's latest statement on today's outage

An update on the CrowdStrike website gives us the latest word from the company in the wake of today's events:

"CrowdStrike 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. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. 

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."

User reports still high after CrowdStrike fix released

Customers of various services are still reporting issues in the aftermath of today's outage. While a fix has been deployed, it won't be business as usual for many companies.

TD Bank is currently facing even higher elevations of reported service disruptions, with earlier social media posts indicating issues with accessing bank accounts online or via the bank's app.

Other US banks facing large numbers of service disruptions

TD Bank isn't alone in facing growing numbers of service disruption reports. Banks like Chase, Arvest, US Bank, and Bank of America are all showing upticks in user-submitted reports.

CrowdStrike user reports show strange uptick post-fix

According to DownDetector, CrowdStrike is currently facing an uptick in user reports for service disruption. However, don't panic, this is likely as people catch up with the news of its deployed fix.

Even an hour after CrowdStrike released guidance to fix today's mass IT issue, many major financial institutions like banks and credit card companies are still receiving outage reports.

User reports on DownDetector have yet to slow down for the likes of Bank of America, TD Bank, VISA, Chase, and more. Most reports relate to accessing online accounts. So, if you're running into issues checking your bank account or credit card balance, it's most likely due to the CrowdStrike outage.

Kevin Reed, Chief Information Security Officer at Acronis, shared some expert insights on the CrowdStrike outage with Laptop Mag:

"The recent CrowdStrike outage appears to stem from a bug in their EDR agent, which was unfortunately not thoroughly tested... The flawed update necessitates manual intervention to resolve, specifically rebooting systems in 'safe mode' and deleting the faulty driver file. This process is cumbersome and leaves systems vulnerable in the interim, potentially inviting opportunistic attacks."

Acronis is a leader in cybersecurity and data protection, with many users impacted by today's CrowdStrike outage. Reed raises an important point about today's outage.

While the CrowdStrike outage wasn't caused by a cyber attack, it could open the door for hackers to take advantage of offline or crippled systems.

"This issue reminds us how fragile IT infrastructure is and why cybersecurity should be natively integrated with backup," Kevin Reed, Chief Information Security Officer at Acronis, tells Laptop Mag.

Reed also noted, "For our Acronis customers, those with recent backups can restore their systems to a stable state, minimizing downtime and exposure. Moving forward, we recommend all businesses ensure robust backup solutions and advocate for better testing protocols from their security vendors."

Reed also explained that testing for the type of software update involved in today's CrowdStrike outage can usually take days or even weeks. More extensive testing may have been able to prevent the issue.

However, Reed also makes a good point about the importance of regular backups. Whether you're a business owner or an individual user, regularly backing up your laptop or PC can really come in handy during situations like this. If you use anti-virus or cybersecurity software, check with your software provider to see if they offer free or automated backups.

Airlines have been effectively frozen all over the world as a result of today's CrowdStrike outage. X (formerly Twitter) user @YourAnonTV shared this eerie video of abandoned Delta Airlines ticket terminals with screens overhead stuck on the Blue Screen of Death.

Even over an hour after CrowdStrike released information on resolving the issue, airlines around the globe are still grounded.

Mac and Linux users waking up to today's CrowdStrike outage will be pleasantly surprised to notice their systems are up and running as usual. The software update causing the "Blue Screen of Death" on Windows computers all over the globe did not impact Mac or Linux systems.

So, if there's one thing this outage has highlighted for all of us, it's how dependent the world is on the Windows operating system.

Mac and Linux users have wasted no time posting about the situation:

Today's CrowdStrike outage will likely go down as the biggest in history, impacting everything from airlines to grocery stores. Many businesses may spend the rest of the day (and potentially even longer) getting back online.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the world's IT leaders respond. What steps will be taken to prevent something like this from happening again?

This outage has made it clear that when the world goes offline, it grinds to a halt.

Laptop Mag will continue to cover any major developments in the aftermath of the CrowdStrike outage, so stay tuned for further information.

One of the most alarming results of today's CrowdStrike outage is its effect on healthcare services around the world. Hospitals and healthcare facilities rely on Windows computers for everything from accessing patient files to aiding in life-saving surgeries.

With this outage locking down billions of computers, many hospitals have rushed to adapt so they can continue to provide care.

For example, Mass General Brigham, a healthcare system in Boston, Massachusetts, has canceled non-emergency surgeries for the day.

Two major hospitals in Germany have announced a similar pause on elective surgeries in light of the CrowdStrike outage.

Meanwhile, hospitals in Buffalo, New York are using "internal command centers" to keep things running and have recommended patients still report for surgeries and procedures as planned.

Luckily, it looks like some hospitals weren't seriously impacted by the outage. For example, the UPMC health network in Pennslyvania reported that the outage affected "fewer than 10%" of its Windows-based computers, allowing UPMC's hospitals to mostly return to business as usual.