CrowdStrike Error Causes Chaos Globally
The world suffered one of its biggest IT failures on record in July, as a single line of code in the CrowdStrike software update caused Windows computers around the world to freeze and display the “blue screen of death”.
The glitch in an update from the cybersecurity provider based in Austin, Texas was a rare but dramatic example of just how badly things can go wrong when technology fails.
Flights grounded, ICUs paralysed
The extent to which every process in modern society hinges on technology was on full display on July 19th as the faulty update caused airlines around the world to ground flights.
In addition, hospitals in several countries were forced to reschedule surgeries and even ICU procedures since the computers controlling these critical processes were frozen and unusable.
The update caused a logical error which caused Microsoft Windows computers to malfunction, switching them over to the blue screen – an outcome that no systems engineer ever wants to encounter.
Unfortunately, scenes like this were played out around the world as critical computer systems remained temporarily frozen.
Capitec suffers day-long outagec
South Africa was largely spared the dramatic effects of the CrowdStrike incident, with the JSE issuing a notice stating that the FTSE indices were not updating. One of the big insurance companies was also affected as well as a major player in the banking industry that saw its systems remain off-line for most of the day.
Capitec’s ATM network, as well as its online banking facilities were non-functional, with customers unable to withdraw or transfer funds.
After several hours of technical intervention, the bank’s IT team was able to restore functionality to the network, but many customers turned to social media to express their frustration about the outage. They also expressed concerns about the bank’s ability to manage their money safely.
The media hasn’t reported any financial losses as a result of the outage but it’s safe to assume that Capitec may suffer some reputational damage as a result. This incident underscores the potential for IT failures and cyberattacks to undermine the reputation of any business and highlights the importance of securing data with encrypted backup.
How to respond in the wake of a major tech failure
When a large, unexpected IT failure takes place, there are two major priorities for any IT manager or CIO: restoring functionality as soon as possible and recovering sensitive data to ensure business continuity.
- The first of these objectives may be in the hands of third-party providers like Microsoft or CrowdStrike, but the safety of sensitive company data falls 100% in your company’s area of responsibility.
- Secure cloud storage is the only solution that guarantees data safety in the event of an unexpected failure or cyberattack – especially one at the scale seen on July 19.
Effective and professional communication to clients also remains a priority during any outage in order to preserve trust and mitigate reputational damage. If this recent failure has you worried about your company’s important client data, investing in secure storage could be the best thing you do for your business this year.
Soteria’s range of cloud storage packages – using immutable encryption – is the best place to start. Browse our range of packages for businesses of all sizes today.