Is the global IT outage caused by Crowdstrike unprecedented?

Despite repeated global outages involving Microsoft, nothing of this magnitude has ever been observed. Many sectors have been affected, which confirms the certain dependence of companies on the services of the American giant.

This could be the biggest computer outage in years. A software bug that affected hundreds of companies — some of the world’s largest — and thousands of people. If everyone uses Microsoft services, it was a computer security software update from the American company Crowdstrike that caused this massive outage on millions of Windows machines.

On the other side of the globe, in Oceania (Australia and New Zealand in particular), the first incidents were reported. When computers started up, an error screen appeared. This screen, familiar to Microsoft users, indicated that the computer “ran into a problem and needs to restart.”

“This is not the first time this has happened,” cybersecurity expert Jean-François Boz tells Tech&Co.

“The last global outage that affected Microsoft was in May 2024,” he continues. The problem this time: The outage wasn’t limited to one geographic location, but to the entire globe. “We’re talking about a historic outage, because it affects a very large number of sectors, almost everywhere in the world.”

“I don’t know if this is the largest computer outage in history, but it’s definitely in a good place,” explains Baptiste Robert, a cybersecurity researcher and co-founder of Pedicta Lab.

“I find it difficult to see equations for it, because it is unparalleled in importance in such large sectors,” he adds.

Same story for Valery Marchev, editor-in-chief of the specialist site LeMagIT: “Given its impact, with significant repercussions on the entire production chain, there was a snowball effect on Crowstrike customers, Microsoft services customers, and ultimately customers, such as travelers at airports.”

Many sectors involved

It's actually on the main Crowdstrike platform, Falconthe breach has been identified. Falcon is a solution for businesses to detect and combat online threats such as ransomware and malware on Windows.

Because Microsoft's tools are used by so many companies around the world, the infection was immediate, both for Crowdstrike's direct customers, and for services where some service providers use the company's tools.

“That's also why many actors were affected,” explains Jean-François Boz.

The aviation sector was particularly affected by the disruption. Several European airports, including Zurich, Berlin, Amsterdam and Spain, were experiencing difficulties. Some had to resort to manual methods to manage passenger check-in and boarding.

Several airlines, including Delta, American Airlines, Air France and Ryanair, have also reported disruptions to their operations. The disruptions have reached as far as Asia with India and Hong Kong.

The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (OG) were also not spared from this failure, which occurred almost a week before the opening ceremony. Accreditation system This issue has affected some individuals, preventing them from obtaining an entry badge to the Olympic venues.

“Even if we are not talking about a cyberattack in the first place, it is worrying to see a leading company in the world of cybersecurity that could be exposed to such a breach in an update,” breathes Jean-François Boz.

“Just a week before the Olympics, I find it hard to hide my anxiety,” he adds. “This collapse should serve as a good wake-up call, already for Crowdstrike but also for all companies that rely on this type of service.”

France “least affected”

In the health sector, many hospitals, especially in the Netherlands, suffered from the consequences of this outage, which led to the closure of the emergency department and the postponement of surgical interventions.

In these different sectors, the impacts were limited and the situation is heading towards returning to normal. For his part, Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz ruled out the hypothesis of a computer attack or security breach. He explained that Mac and Linux systems were not affected.

Stock markets also felt the effects of the turmoil. London and Milan stock exchanges saw Delay in publication From their evidence. Crowdstrike stock fell significantly before the Wall Street open, while Microsoft stock suffered a slight decline.

Finally, Jean-François Boz notes that France has been “less affected” by this global outage. This is due in particular to its “free software” culture, which is different from other European countries and the world.