Global IT outage: CrowdStrike CEO confirms update "defect" as the source of mass disruption

A slew of businesses worldwide have been taken offline in a major IT outage caused by issues relating to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor platform. 

Organizations in Australia first reported issues, with users reporting early on Friday that they had been locked out of work devices.

The outage appeared to primarily affect Windows devices and servers globally, with Microsoft issuing a service update via X revealing it was investigating an issue “impacting users’ ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services”.

Sources told ITPro they have also encountered significant disruption this morning.

Sharing screenshots with ITPro, one user was met with the blue screen requesting they choose a keyboard setup when accessing a server this morning, suggesting that the device requires a fresh installation.

In a separate screenshot showing Windows Boot Manager, the user was informed that the operating system – once again Windows Server – failed to start.

A spokesperson for Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator suggested the outage was related to third-party software used by affected companies, with cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike believed to be the firm in question.

“Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies,” the agency said.

“There is no information to suggest it is a cybersecurity incident. We continue to engage across key stakeholders”.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has responded to the incident, taking to X to confirm that the company is "actively working with customers" to resolve the issue. 

Kurtz revealed the incident was caused by a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts". 

The chief executive emphasized that the source of this incident was not due to a security incident or cyber attack. 

"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," he said. 

"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."

IT outage hits organizations globally

Reports online suggest that Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, the US, Germany and the UK have all been affected. Three US airlines, including Delta, United, and American have grounded flights as a result of the outage, while Berlin Brandenburg airport has suspended all flights.

Sydney airport informed travelers via X that while flights were still arriving and departing, they should expect lengthy delays. Melbourne airport also confirmed that check-ins for passengers on some airlines had been disrupted.

Virgin Australia also informed passengers there would be a "complete ground stop" of flights until the situation had been resolved.

In the UK television broadcaster Sky News was taken off air and forced to play archive footage, while some supermarkets were forced to revert to cash-only transactions with self-checkout terminals taken offline.