Tech Outage Disrupts Operations Globally
Airlines grounded flights, emergency services were hampered, and hospitals canceled procedures due to a widespread technology outage. The source of the disruption was a faulty software update released by CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company. The update impacted computers running Microsoft Windows software, causing widespread system crashes.
Travelers waiting to check in at the airport in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday. Credit… Bodo Marks/DPA, via Associated Press
This incident underscores the fragility of the global technology infrastructure, which has become increasingly reliant on a few major players. A single error in software distributed across the internet can have immediate and far-reaching consequences.
“This is a very, very uncomfortable illustration of the fragility of the world’s core internet infrastructure,” noted Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center and a professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. The incident raised questions about CrowdStrike’s testing procedures and the repercussions such firms should face when their software flaws lead to such extensive disruptions.
