Global outage disrupts businesses worldwide due to Windows PC Error

A widespread IT outage linked to Windows PCs caused significant disruption to businesses around the world on Friday, July 19, 2024. The issue began around 7:00 AM BST (British Summer Time) and resulted in blue screen of death (BSOD) errors on affected Windows workstations.

The outage impacted a vast array of industries, including:

• Finance: Banks reported being taken offline, hindering customer transactions.
• Transportation: Airlines experienced disruptions, causing delays and cancellations. Railway companies, including Britain's biggest train company, Govia Thameslink Railway, faced issues managing schedules due to a lack of access to driver diagrams. Airports in various locations, including Edinburgh, Spain, Amsterdam, Berlin, and India, were also affected.
• Media: Television and radio broadcasters, such as Sky News in the UK, went off the air.
• Healthcare: The NHS booking system used by doctors in England became unavailable, potentially impacting appointments.
• Retail: Supermarkets and other stores might have faced difficulties due to IT disruptions.

According to posts on the subreddit for cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, the issue stemmed from a content deployment by CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor. CrowdStrike later identified the problematic deployment and reverted the changes to resolve the issue.

IT teams across affected businesses scrambled to diagnose and address the problem. Some entities, like the NHS, communicated the disruption to the public through social media.

The full extent of the outage and the number of businesses affected remain unclear. Reports suggest the issue impacted users in the United States, India, and New Zealand, potentially extending to other locations globally.

While CrowdStrike has addressed the initial problem, the outage highlights the potential vulnerability of businesses reliant on Windows PCs and the interconnectedness of modern IT infrastructure.