Microsoft Windows 10 users around the world are facing a massive outage due to the latest CrowdStrike update, which has led to a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error for many users. CrowdStrike’s bugged update is causing the affected PCs and servers to go offline, activating a recovery boot loop that prevents them from starting up properly. This has resulted in disrupted services at banks and airports around the world. Australian banks, airlines, and TV broadcasters were the first to raise the alarm about the outage. In fact, the massive outage has led to the Australian government calling an emergency meeting to deal with the issue. A support note on the CrowdStrike website reads, “We have had widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple cloud versions.” CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity software used by many offices for threat protection on Windows systems. If you are also facing the Blue Screen of Death, here’s how you can resolve the issue.

According to reports on Downdetector, servers of several banks around the world have gone offline, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bendigo Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Suncorp Bank. Although reports of banks being down in Australia, New Zealand and India are still coming in, many other banks around the world are also expected to be affected.

Microsoft has responded to this outage and shared a statement with India Today Tech: “We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We hope to have a resolution soon”. In India, MeitY says it is “in constant touch with Microsoft, and is actively working with the affected entities. CERT-In is also coordinating with CISOs of critical infrastructure entities. All affected entities are working to get their systems back up and running. In many cases, the systems are partially operational,” according to a post shared by Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

CrowdStrike has also acknowledged these issues and said that the issue’s “symptoms include the host experiencing a Bugcheck\Blue Screen error related to the Falcon sensor. Our engineering teams are actively working to resolve this issue and there is no need to open a support ticket.”

The company’s CEO George Kurtz has also responded to the outage. He posted on X, saying:

“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers who are impacted by a vulnerability found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not affected. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and resolved. We redirect customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide full and continuous updates on our website. We advise organizations to ensure they are communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team remains fully committed to ensuring the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

The New Zealand Herald has also reported that several banks in the country have been affected by CrowdStrike’s faulty update. Problems have been reported with debit and credit cards including ASB, ANZ and Kiwibank. Additionally, ANZ Tap N Pay and Visa PayWave services have been reported to be down.

Meanwhile, the Australian government has called an emergency meeting due to the widespread outage affecting various sectors such as news outlets, banks, supermarkets, airports and telecommunications providers. A government spokesperson has shared a statement that said: “The Australian Government is working closely with the National Cyber ​​Security Coordinator regarding this ongoing outage. We are aware that triple-0 services remain unaffected. Current information indicates that this outage is due to a technical issue with a third-party software platform used by affected companies.”

Apart from banks, the problem has also affected airlines, news channels, pharmacies and many other services across the world. Users on X are sharing posts of boarding planes with handwritten boarding passes. Photos are coming from Australia of pharmacies taking orders through phone calls. Many in New Zealand are also reporting problems with transport services, including delays in flights. Delhi Airport has also shared a post on X stating that “some services at Delhi Airport” have been “temporarily affected” due to a global IT problem. “We are working closely with all our stakeholders to minimise the inconvenience to our passengers,” the statement said.

Akasa Air in India has also revealed that its services have been affected due to the issue. The company said, “Due to infrastructure issues with our service provider, some of our online services, including booking, check-in and managing booking services, will be temporarily unavailable. We are currently following manual check-in and boarding processes at airports.”