CrowdStrike attributes botched update to bug in quality-control process
CrowdStrike revealed on Wednesday that a software bug in its quality-control system was responsible for the recent software update that led to global computer crashes last week. The U.S. company reported mounting losses due to the outage, which disrupted services across various sectors, including aviation and banking.
TroibNews 
On Wednesday, CrowdStrike acknowledged that a software bug in its quality-control system led to the software update that caused computers to crash worldwide last week. This incident has resulted in growing losses and disrupted services across various sectors, including aviation and banking.
The full extent of the damage from the faulty update is still being evaluated. According to a statement from Microsoft on July 20, approximately 8.5 million Windows devices were affected. The U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee has also reached out to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, requesting his testimony.
The financial repercussions are becoming clearer. Insurer Parametrix estimated that excluding Microsoft, U.S. Fortune 500 companies will incur $5.4 billion in losses due to the outage. Additionally, Malaysia's digital minister has urged CrowdStrike and Microsoft to consider compensating the impacted companies.
The outage stemmed from a fault in CrowdStrike's Falcon platform, which is designed to protect systems from malicious software and hackers. This fault caused computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system to crash, displaying the "Blue Screen of Death."
CrowdStrike explained in a statement, "Due to a bug in the Content Validator, one of the two Template Instances passed validation despite containing problematic content data," attributing the problem to a failure in an internal quality control mechanism that let problematic data bypass the company's safety checks.
There is no indication that Microsoft plans to restrict CrowdStrike's access to the Windows operating system following the outage, according to a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday.
CrowdStrike has not disclosed the nature of the problematic content data or why it was troublesome. A "Template Instance" consists of a set of instructions guiding the software on identifying threats and responding appropriately. The company has introduced a "new check" in its quality control process to prevent similar issues in the future.
Last week, CrowdStrike provided information to repair the affected systems. However, experts noted that restoring these systems would take time, as it required manually eliminating the flawed code.
Wednesday's statement aligns with the general consensus among cybersecurity experts that a significant error occurred in CrowdStrike's quality control process.
The situation has also highlighted concerns among experts about the preparedness of many organizations to implement contingency plans when a single point of failure, such as an IT system or a piece of software within it, malfunctions.
Read more: Global IT outage a wake-up call for more resilient cybersecurity, experts say
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
The full extent of the damage from the faulty update is still being evaluated. According to a statement from Microsoft on July 20, approximately 8.5 million Windows devices were affected. The U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee has also reached out to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, requesting his testimony.
The financial repercussions are becoming clearer. Insurer Parametrix estimated that excluding Microsoft, U.S. Fortune 500 companies will incur $5.4 billion in losses due to the outage. Additionally, Malaysia's digital minister has urged CrowdStrike and Microsoft to consider compensating the impacted companies.
The outage stemmed from a fault in CrowdStrike's Falcon platform, which is designed to protect systems from malicious software and hackers. This fault caused computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system to crash, displaying the "Blue Screen of Death."
CrowdStrike explained in a statement, "Due to a bug in the Content Validator, one of the two Template Instances passed validation despite containing problematic content data," attributing the problem to a failure in an internal quality control mechanism that let problematic data bypass the company's safety checks.
There is no indication that Microsoft plans to restrict CrowdStrike's access to the Windows operating system following the outage, according to a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday.
CrowdStrike has not disclosed the nature of the problematic content data or why it was troublesome. A "Template Instance" consists of a set of instructions guiding the software on identifying threats and responding appropriately. The company has introduced a "new check" in its quality control process to prevent similar issues in the future.
Last week, CrowdStrike provided information to repair the affected systems. However, experts noted that restoring these systems would take time, as it required manually eliminating the flawed code.
Wednesday's statement aligns with the general consensus among cybersecurity experts that a significant error occurred in CrowdStrike's quality control process.
The situation has also highlighted concerns among experts about the preparedness of many organizations to implement contingency plans when a single point of failure, such as an IT system or a piece of software within it, malfunctions.
Read more: Global IT outage a wake-up call for more resilient cybersecurity, experts say
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
