Global outage caused by a 'defect' in a 'single content update', CrowdStrike says
Businesses have been affected globally by the outage. (Reuters: Tyrone Siu)
In short:
A tech outage affecting businesses around the world was caused by a "defect" in an update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, CEO George Kurtz says.
The company has identified the issue and deployed a fix, he said.
What's next?
Due to the size and nature of the incident it "may take some time to resolve", Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said after meeting with CrowdStrike.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz says a global tech outage affecting various businesses was caused by a "defect" in a "single content update" for Windows hosts.
The unprecedented outage shut down systems across Australia and internationally, including at emergency services, government agencies, media outlets, airports and shopping centres.
The outage was linked back to CrowdStrike, a United States-based cybersecurity company with software installed on Windows, Mac and Linux systems around the world.
The company advertises their computer software CrowdStrike Falcon as protection against attacks including credential theft.
Cybersecurity expert Andy Prow said any disruption within a CrowdStrike system, like in their recent Windows update, could affect the whole system.
Windows devices — including airport check-in screens, supermarket self-check-out systems, smart devices and laptops— attempted to restart and displayed the Blue Screen Of Death.
The continuing error saw flights grounded, broadcasts interrupted and customers unable to pay for petrol and groceries.
Officials reassured users the issue was not caused by a security breach.
"This is not a security incident or cyberattack," Mr Kurtz wrote in a post on X.
"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," Mr Kurtz said.
"We further recommend organisations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels."
It is the first public statement from CrowdStrike on the issue.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz says the global tech outage was caused by a defect in an update. (Supplied: CrowdStrike)
Earlier on Friday, the company was running a recorded phone message saying it was aware of reports about Windows systems crashing.
"Thanks for contacting CrowdStrike support. CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows … related to the Falcon sensor," a prerecorded message played when a Reuters reporter called the company's technical support.
Representatives of the company met with the Australian government on Friday night for a snap crisis meeting called the National Coordination Mechanism, Home Affairs Minister Claire O'Neil said in a statement.
The company told the Australian government the fix it issued should resolve most problems, but it could take some time.
"This is a technical issue, caused by a CrowdStrike update to its customers," Ms O'Neil said.
"They [CrowdStrike] have issued a fix for this, allowing affected companies and organisations to reboot their systems without the problem," she said.
"The company has informed us that most issues should be resolved through the fix they have provided, but given the size and nature of this incident it may take some time to resolve."
Ms O'Neil said the government was "focused on bringing together the affected parties and ensuring government entities institute the fix as quickly as possible."
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