8.5 million Windows users across the globe have reported experiencing the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) error on Friday, causing their systems to suddenly shut down or restart unexpectedly.
This widespread issue was reportedly caused by a faulty Falcon Sensor software update from CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that offers ransomware, malware, and internet security products. CrowdStrike provides its antivirus software to Microsoft for its Windows devices.
The outage has impacted users of various platforms, such as Microsoft 365, Azure, Amazon Web Services, Instagram, and eBay. Businesses have also been affected, including banks, hospitals, telecom companies, broadcasting companies, retailers, and several airports.
The Blue Screen of Death, also known as a black screen error or STOP code error, is a critical error screen displayed by Microsoft Windows operating systems. It indicates a system crash where the OS can no longer operate safely, leading to an unexpected restart and potential loss of data.
In a post on X, George Kurtz, the CEO of Crowdstrike, assured users that their engineers are actively working to resolve the issue and that there is no need to open additional support tickets.
“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 organisations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers,” Kurtz said in the post.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged the issue and announced that the company was in the works to restore global systems securely.
“We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online,” Nadella stated.
Microsoft has also introduced a recovery tool that’s designed to help IT administrators fix Windows machines that were affected by the outage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned the public of cybercriminals and their opportunistic phishing attacks, SMS scams, and other malicious activity that might attempt to take advantage of the chaos.
“CISA urges organizations and individuals to remain vigilant and only follow instructions from legitimate sources,” according to CISA’s advisory. “CISA recommends organizations to remind their employees to avoid clicking on phishing emails or suspicious links.”
Despite the serious nature of the incident, many netizens turned to social media to share humour and memes, leading to the trending hashtag #MicrosoftOutage.
X user @tanu_c57 posted “When you secretly wished for an early weekend and Microsoft decided to make it a global event. “
Some businesses have also taken advantage of the outage, primarily by promoting their own products and services online. Take a look at this ad from KitKat.
The CrowdStrike-Microsoft incident underscores the complexities and risks associated with modern IT infrastructure. As organisations increasingly depend on technology for their operations, having contingency plans and redundant systems in place to ensure resilience against potential disruptions becomes crucial.