Digital services rely on a handful of companies’ software — including those of Microsoft and CrowdStrike that sparked a global technology meltdown.
By Shira Ovide | THE WASHINGTON POST
Cascading technology errors stranded airline passengers around the world, halted hospital surgeries and crippled office workers’ computers on Friday in one of the most disruptive computer outages in years, highlighting how much of the world relies on potentially error-prone software from a handful of companies.
Technology experts said the meltdowns appeared to stem mostly from an error in a software update from CrowdStrike, whose technology is commonly used by businesses to defend against cyberattacks.
That defect affected computers that use Microsoft’s Windows, which powers hundreds of millions of personal computers and many back-end systems for airlines, digital payment, emergency services call centers and much more.
The problem wasn’t a cyberattack or a security incident, CrowdStrike said.
Computer network outages aren’t unusual, but experts said they were stunned that one company’s software error rippled through so many computer systems. They said it was a double whammy: An error in CrowdStrike’s widely used software took down computers powered by the dominant Windows software.
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