A widespread Microsoft outage linked to cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers.
The website DownDectector, which tracks user-reported internet outages, recorded growing outages in services at Visa, ADT security and Amazon, and major U.S. carriers including Delta and United.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on social media platform X that the company “is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.”
He said: “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”
On the company’s website, it says the issue was with a “Windows sensor update.”
In the statement it said: “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. 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. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
The issue affected Microsoft 365 apps and services, and escalating disruptions continued hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing it.
Microsoft 365 posted on X that the company was “working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact in a more expedient fashion” and that they were “observing a positive trend in service availability.”
CrowdStrike on its site says the company “protects the people, processes and technologies that drive modern enterprise. A single agent solution to stop breaches, ransomware, and cyber attacks—powered by world-class security expertise and deep industry experience.”
The outages affected major companies, including Visa, Amazon, Delta and United.
