CrowdStrike releases details about what caused major outage
TEXAS - The Austin-based cyber company CrowdStrike released new details about the outage that caused failures across the globe on Friday, July 19.
Banks, hospitals, airlines, and a variety of companies were impacted by the technical disruptions.
CrowdStrike says the outage was caused by a content configuration update that resulted in a Windows system crash.
"It was not a cyberattack," says CrowdStrike’s Chief Executive George Kurtz.
The systems affected were using the Windows sensor version 7.11 and above and were online at the time of the update.
CrowdStrike says a fix was deployed within hours.
"It could be some time for some systems to recover. But this is why we are here to make sure every customer fully recovers," says Kurtz.
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Delta Air Lines is still dealing with the aftermath in airports across the country. Crew-tracking systems are still down, making it difficult for Delta to coordinate with pilots and flight attendants.
Atlanta has dealt with the bulk of the disruptions with stranded passengers, long lines, and lost baggage.
"It's just insane. You know, older people, children, just stuck in these airports. Pregnant ladies. I don't know how you can do this," said a traveler.
Delta has canceled more than 5,000 flights since the outage began.
"This is a monster inconvenience. And while the passenger bill of rights says there's nothing an airline can do about it, I think they should," said traveler Art Ginolfi.
CrowdStrike defends its customers from cyberattacks. The company says the updates are a regular part of the protection mechanism of its platform.
Lawmakers are calling on the CEO to testify over the global tech outage.
"To think that you have a worldwide impact and a set of outages based upon one file in your very popular piece of software is concerning," says cybersecurity expert David Mailcoat.
The CEO did post an apology on the CrowdStrike website the day of the outage.