Microsoft Outage Cause Explained: What is CrowdStrike and Why Are Users Getting the Windows Blue Screen of Death?

Microsoft faced a widespread outage that disrupted multiple services and caused the infamous “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) for users worldwide. This IT meltdown, primarily due to an issue with CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor software, caused significant disruption and sparked humorous reactions online as users joked about an early start to the weekend.

What is CrowdStrike and Falcon Sensor?

CrowdStrike is a well-known cybersecurity company and its Falcon Sensor software is designed to protect systems from cyberattacks.

On Thursday, CrowdStrike warned users about a bug related to the Falcon Sensor that caused Windows systems to crash with BSOD errors. Despite rolling back the problematic update, many machines are still affected.

Also read: Microsoft outage forces IndiGo to issue handwritten boarding passes; passenger’s post goes viral

Understanding the Blue Screen of Death

The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is a critical error screen on Windows PCs that halts all operations and displays an error message. This occurs when the system encounters a serious problem, often resulting in an unexpected reboot and potential data loss.

Far-reaching effects

The outage had a global impact, affecting various platforms such as Microsoft 365, Azure, Amazon Web Services and even social media sites like Instagram and eBay. Downdetector, which tracks outages of online services, shows significant disruptions to these services.

Also read: Microsoft outage update: Crowdstrike CEO explains how to fix the problem

The issue has grounded flights on airlines including Delta, United and American Airlines in the US and IndiGo in India. Sky News has had trouble broadcasting live and some supermarkets have had problems processing payments, preventing customers from completing their purchases.

Reactions from CrowdStrike and Microsoft

Accordingly CNBCCrowdStrike previously assured users that their engineers were actively working to resolve the issue and stated that there was no need to open additional support tickets. Users experiencing issues were advised to contact their system administrators. Later, George Kurtz, the CEO of Crowdstrike, shared an update on the situation via Twitter.

Also read: Microsoft outage: Internet users celebrate “Happy Friday” amid global IT meltdown

He wrote: “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers affected by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not affected. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix deployed. We direct customers to the Support Portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide full and continuous updates on our website. We also recommend that organizations ensure they communicate with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

Microsoft confirmed early Friday that the Azure outage had been resolved, but stressed the risks associated with heavy reliance on cloud services. “We are investigating an issue that is affecting access to multiple Microsoft 365 services. We are working to determine the full impact and will provide more information shortly,” Microsoft said on its support site.

Despite the serious disruption, many internet users took to social media to poke fun at the unexpected work stoppage. The hashtag #MicrosoftOutage trended as users shared memes and humorous depictions of the situation. One user quipped: “Looks like the weekend started early thanks to Microsoft!”

Latest update

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has alerted the public that cybercriminals are exploiting the recent Microsoft outage to conduct phishing attacks and other forms of malicious activity. In response to the situation, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella announced that the company is actively working to securely restore global systems.

Also read: Microsoft CrowdStrilke outage: Why weren’t all computers affected?

CISA advises users to exercise caution and avoid clicking on phishing emails or dubious links, as doing so could lead to email compromises and other fraudulent schemes.

“Threat actors continue to exploit the widespread IT outage for phishing and other malicious activities. CISA urges organizations to ensure they have robust cybersecurity measures in place to protect their users, assets, and data from this activity,” it said in a statement.

In a post on X, Satya Nadella said: “We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and the wider industry to provide technical guidance and support to customers so they can safely bring their systems back online.”

(Originally published on July 19, 2024)