A major Microsoft Windows outage due to a CrowdStrike security update has affected many companies and services worldwide, including the Philippines.
On July 19, 2024, a flawed update of drivers relating to CrowdStrike EDR solutions is responsible for the massive outage and downtime that has affected numerous Windows systems worldwide, including servers and workstations.
The 'blue screen of death' (BSOD) error is displayed on the affected systems, and they experience difficulty booting.
Earlier this day, several working professionals in the Philippines reported that their Microsoft Windows-powered computers were down and experienced the infamous BSOD error, indicating a system crash.
In order to fix the issue, it is necessary to delete the affected driver (csagent.sys or C-00000291*.sys) in Safe Mode. Nevertheless, a significant number of corporate users do not possess the required access rights to execute this action. Consequently, corporate administrators may be compelled to manually intervene on a company-wide scale.
Reportedly, the affected systems include various critical infrastructure computers, including airports, airlines, banks, ATMs, telecommunications companies, stock markets, POS, retail services, and other firms.
Some of the establishments and services affected by this Windows outage caused by a CrowdStrike update are as follows:
- Banks (BDO, BPI, Metrobank, UnionBank, RCBC)
- Department of Information and Communications Technology
- Airlines (Cebu Pacific, AirAsia, etc.)
- Cloud services (Azure, Amazon Web Services, etc.)
- Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Purview, PowerBI, Microsoft Teams, Viva Engage
- Windows 365 Cloud PC
- Microsoft 365 apps (Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, SharePoint, Live)
Meanwhile, here are the statements of Microsoft and Crowdstrike from their official X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
Microsoft 365 Status posted:
We're aware of an issue with Windows 365 Cloud PCs caused by a recent update to CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor software. This is being communicated under WP821561 in the admin center.
George Kurtz, CEO of CrowdStrike, posted:
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.
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