US tech giant Microsoft has estimated that the outage affected 8.5 million computers worldwide. The technical glitch occurred on July 19 when cybersecurity software company CrowdStrike released its regular update.
From airlines to news channels, the glitch caused IT systems to crash, disrupting daily operations.
In a blog post, Microsoft said, “Our current estimate is that CrowdStrike’s update has impacted 8.5 million Windows devices. Hundreds of Microsoft engineers and experts have been deployed to work directly with customers to restore services.”
Why didn’t this have an impact on home PCs?
CrowdStrike’s products are primarily used by large organizations that require robust cyberattack protection and are rarely found on home PCs.
Speaking to KSHB Kansas City.com, IT Manager Nicole Burres said, “As far as I know, this isn’t something you would need to be concerned about at home.”
“Now, it could affect your banking, it could affect some emergency services, depending on your location,” said Ms. Burress, who works with Loquient Technology Services.
Talking about how CrowdStrike works and who its customers are, Ms. Burress said, “CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company that provides cloud solutions to companies. They have about a 1,000-user minimum licensing requirement, so your end user at home is not going to be using it.”
CrowdStrike’s first statement after the glitch
Speaking about the glitch, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said, “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers who are affected by the 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 also advise organizations to make sure to communicate with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully prepared to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
