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Starting at 19:00 GMT on the 18th (03:00 BJT on the 19th), Microsoft Windows systems in many parts of the world crashed due to a security software update, resulting in a "blue screen", affecting multiple industries such as aviation, medical, media, finance, retail, and logistics. Microsoft and software supplier, US computer security technology company "Crowdstrike" have provided users with repair guides, but due to the large number of companies involved, it will take some time for all "blue screen" computers to return to normal.

Affecting a wide range of industries

Microsoft said the "blue screen" originated from a Microsoft Windows system user launching a security software from the "CrowdStrike" network security service company.

This is the Microsoft brand logo photographed in London, UK on November 13, 2021. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Tim Ireland)

The "blue screen" means that the Microsoft operating system is paralyzed, affecting check-in and ticket booking at airports around the world, as well as access to medical and banking systems, TV and radio programs, supermarkets and telecommunications systems, etc., causing inconvenience to people's daily lives. Port operations and logistics transportation in some regions have also been affected.

The aviation industry has been particularly affected, especially during the peak tourist season. The Federal Aviation Administration initially halted all flights within the United States, but airlines later reported that they had gradually resumed services. Major European airports were also affected, with an airport in Berlin, Germany, temporarily suspending all flights early on the 19th.

Passengers wait for flight information at Chicago International Airport on July 19. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Liang

According to the Associated Press, the outage caused thousands of flights to be canceled and tens of thousands of flights to be delayed around the world. At many airports in Europe, America, Asia and Latin America, passengers lined up in long queues to handle their business.

Junaid Ali, a cybersecurity expert at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the UK, said this was the world's largest outage since 2017. In 2017, the WannaCry ransomware software used a vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows system to attack networked computers in many parts of the world, affecting the operation of many government departments and industries.

Difficult to recover quickly

George Kurtz, CEO of CrowdStrike, apologized on social media X and in an interview with American TV media on the 19th. The company said the failure involved an automatic update of a software that prevents cyber attacks. The company has deployed a fix and issued a repair guide to users. Some systems require manual repair.

Ann Johnson, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy chief information security officer, said late on the 19th that customers are receiving or have received the necessary information and are getting the support they need, but it is impossible to estimate how long it will take for customers to resume using Microsoft systems.

Ali Mellen, an analyst at the international analysis agency Forrester, said that manual repair requires deleting damaged files, etc., which is time-consuming. Some of CrowdHit's big customers may manage millions of computers, and it may take them several days or longer to complete the repair work.

Zhongji is headquartered in the United States and listed in New York. It has been favored by investors recently, and its stock price has doubled in the past year. On the 19th, its stock price fell 11%.

Provoking reflection from all walks of life

This outage incident has caused some reflection: many parts of the world and many sectors of society are heavily dependent on services provided by a few technology companies, and once a problem occurs, "one move can affect the entire body."

John McDermid, a professor at the University of York in the UK, warned that all industries, especially the infrastructure sector, should guard against such problems in the future.

Jill Luria, senior software analyst at DA Davidson, a US market forecasting agency, said that most companies cannot find alternatives to Microsoft. After this incident, some corporate users may consider looking for alternative solutions for security products.

Microsoft Windows is the most popular personal computer operating system in the world. Zhongji Network Security Services has nearly 30,000 customers worldwide, including many Fortune 500 companies.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that fortunately, the problem was caused by a software update and not a hacker attack or cybersecurity threat.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Author: Guo Qian

Editor: Qin Daixin

Proofreading: Zhang Ziqing