Massive IT Outage Hits Airlines Worldwide
Key takeaways
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- Airlines, banks, and global payment systems were hit by major delays Friday when the world tech ecosystem ground to a halt.
- The massive technological breakdown has been attributed to an unusual failure of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems.
- Massive delays were witnessed in Australia’s major airports before the impact spilled to the United Kingdom Europe and the USA.
- Numerous passengers remained stuck in airline queues awaiting confirmation of their flights.
Grounded planes and stranded passengers
The global aviation industry took the biggest hit following a hitch in the Microsoft Windows Operating System.
Planes were momentarily grounded in major airports around the world including Sydney International Airport in Australia and other airports in Europe and America.
Computer screens, departure boards, and critical equipment abruptly shut down in what has been described as the biggest IT failure in history.
Passengers and airline operators found themselves plunged into chaos with no end in sight for the scare.
Global financial networks shaken by Microsoft system malfunction
The outage had a cascading effect on global financial systems, causing major delays reported by banks and money transfer systems.
Locally in Kenya, users have reported that the PayPal to Safaricom M-PESA money transfer service is down.
The National Australian Bank, alongside banks in Europe and America, was also hit by the outage.
Crowdstrike behind worldwide tech outageÂ
The massive IT outage that left more than 1,400 flights canceled and banks reeling in losses has been traced to Crowdstrike.
CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity technology company that specializes in user protection, threat intelligence, and incident response.
It provides cloud-based security solutions to detect and prevent cybersecurity threats for businesses and organizations.
According to CrowdStrike, a “defect” in one of its software updates interfered with the Microsoft Windows operating system.
As a result, millions of Windows computers worldwide experienced the deadly ‘blue screen of death’.
The latest statement from the company states “This is not a cyberattack. The issue has been identified, and a fix has been deployed.”
Global tech giant Microsoft has also weighed in on the crisis saying the the issue has been resolved for its Apps.
Microsoft also cautions that the residual impact will continue to be felt before a total fix is achieved.
Top cybersecurity experts, however, insist that bringing computers back to life is an uphill task.
This is because the blue screen of death cannot be easily reversed by restarting computers to pick up correct updates, away from Crowdstrike.
The unprecedented attack could lead to companies worldwide taking days to resume operations, with tech firms scrambling to stabilize the situation.
In a striking twist of fate, a prominent global cybersecurity firm triggers a massive failure that nearly halts the entire global economy.
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