In a significant disruption, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike reported on Sunday that a substantial number of the 8.5 million Microsoft devices impacted by a global tech outage are now back online and operational. This comes in the wake of a software update by CrowdStrike that led to widespread system problems, affecting numerous critical services.
Microsoft revealed that the outage affected 8.5 million Windows devices, accounting for less than one percent of all Windows machines. Despite this seemingly small percentage, the repercussions were vast, grounding flights, halting broadcasts, and disrupting services such as healthcare and banking.
“While the percentage was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services,” Microsoft stated in a blog post.
The outage saw the air travel industry in disarray, with thousands of flights cancelled and passengers stranded. Delta Air Lines, one of the most affected, reported over 600 flight cancellations as of 10 a.m. EDT on Saturday, with more expected.
CrowdStrike has since collaborated with Microsoft to develop a solution to accelerate a fix within Microsoft’s Azure infrastructure. Microsoft also mentioned its ongoing efforts with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, sharing information to mitigate the industry’s broader impact.
In a reassuring update, CrowdStrike confirmed its capability to restore the affected Microsoft devices, emphasising its operational readiness to address the issue.
