A defective cybersecurity software update stalled the work of major global airlines, delivery companies, healthcare services and banks on Friday.
On July 19, various businesses and services across the globe faced hours-long global computer system outages caused by a faulty software update by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, one of the largest operators in the cybersecurity industry.
According to the company’s official statement, the issue that caused major service delays, cancelled flights, and worldwide IT chaos was a logic error defect found in a single Falcon platform content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts were not impacted.
Falcon cybersecurity platform is a cloud-based and AI-empowered software. This system blocks cyberattacks, monitors potentially malicious activity, and identifies unauthorized accounts, systems and applications.
As a result of the lengthy system outage, global banks, airports, media companies, transport networks, flights, restaurants, and supermarkets faced problems with accessing online and mobile banking and payroll software, scheduling or cancelling flights and appointments, accepting contactless and credit card payments, and performing check-in procedures.
Besides, some state and local governments reported problems at public institutions such as courts, motor vehicle departments, unemployment agencies, customs and border control offices, emergency call centers, etc. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also said it observed hackers using the outage time for phishing and other malicious activities.
Although the tech issues were resolved within a few hours, a lot of questions remained regarding the viability and resilience of modern digital systems. Some of the main concerns are overreliance on a handful of companies for critical software, poor contingency plans, absence of alternative systems, potential exploits of system vulnerabilities by malefactors, and more.
“This event is a reminder of how complex and intertwined our global computing systems are and how vulnerable they are,” said Gil Luria, senior software analyst at D.A. Davidson.
“It does really make you just realize how much we rely on technology and how scary it is,” noted Alison Baulos whose 73-year-old father’s heart surgery in Paducah, Kentucky, was canceled Friday morning because of the tech outage, in an interview to AP.
Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, reminded that such incidents reveal how concentration can create fragile systems, with millions of people and businesses paying the price. Khan highlighted that global systems may lack resilience because of concentrated provider power and lack of product diversity.
We have earlier reported on Innovative Technologies in Cybersecurity that might help global businesses cope with rising threats to their digital systems.
