CrowdStrike's CEO apologized for the security system error that crashed so many computers, and Microsoft has released a tool to help fix affected PCs, but the costs associated with the global crash keep mounting
On Friday, people all over the world turned on their work PCs only to find them crashing uncontrollably, over and over again, as the infamous Windows Blue Screen of Death error message appeared. The outage prevented workers around the world from accessing the apps and tools they needed to do their jobs. The fault was quickly traced to code from an update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, whose software many companies rely on to prevent cyberattacks.
The irony was palpable, as the crashes affected airlines, news organizations, banks, health services, and more across the planet. Three days later, the impact of CrowdStrike's mistake is still being felt at businesses large and small, even though Microsoft says a relatively small number of PCs were directly affected.
Though the error only hit Microsoft-powered machines, leaving computers using Mac and Linux operating systems unaffected, Microsoft had to respond to the error caused by CrowdStrike's faulty systems -- if only to keep its reputation safe. In a statement yesterday, the tech giant said that only about 8.5 million machines were impacted. That seems low, considering that in 2023 data showed there were some 1.4 billion PCs using Windows 10 or 11 around the world, but remember, the blue screen crashes only affected machines running CrowdStrike's code. As Microsoft's blog put it, "While the percentage [of affected machines] was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services." And it's entirely clear that when, say, a core PC crashed at a business's central office, it could affect other PCs accessing it for data or other digital systems.
To try to speed up a return to normal and minimize the impact, The Verge reports Microsoft released a special recovery tool to help repair PCs still impacted by the CrowdStrike crashes. The tool creates a special thumb drive that information technology workers can use to reboot and repair affected machines -- though some workers still may need an in-person assist from company IT staff.
Late yesterday, CrowdStrike posted a statement on X saying that "a significant number" of the 8.5 million affected machines were already back online and in operation. CrowdStrike apologized using plain language: Its statement acknowledged the "profound impact" of its error, it said it was sorry for the disruption created, thanked its "customers, partners and their IT teams" for working "tirelessly" to fix things, and said its focus was "clear" -- to "restore every system as soon as possible." In a world where carefully worded not-quite-apologies define the corporate norm, CrowdStrike's message is a good lesson for business leaders.
But not all computers affected by the CrowdStrike issue have been fixed yet, and some systems in businesses are still affected, which is having add-on effects. Yesterday, for example, Delta airlines canceled hundreds of flights, affecting about 17 percent of its regular schedule, CNBC reported. The disruptions have also lingered at Delta compared to other affected airlines, prompting an apology from CEO Ed Bastian and a promise to give frequent flyer miles as an apology. CNN, meanwhile, reports that costs associated with the CrowdStrike issue and its ongoing impact may reach a billion dollars -- and experts have noted that CrowdStrike itself has so far stayed mum on the matter of compensation.
This story is still developing, so the possible costs may mount up even further -- which tracks with what one IT expert speaking to CNN called "the largest IT outage in history."
