Summary
A global IT crisis has simultaneously paralyzed airports, financial services, transport, and broadcasting services worldwide. The potential cause points to an error in the CrowdStrike security platform update, which operates on Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure.
The Crisis Unfolds
Impact on Airports and Airlines
On the morning of July 19th (Central European Standard Time), major disruptions began affecting airports and airlines worldwide. This IT crisis led to significant delays and cancellations, impacting check-ins and reservations. Major airlines like United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines halted all additional takeoffs for an hour globally.
Several European airports, including Berlin Brandenburg, Düsseldorf, Zurich, London Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Amsterdam Schiphol, faced system issues. Hong Kong International Airport was also affected. Airlines like Lufthansa and Eurowings reported disruptions in check-in and booking systems, while Air France and Spain's Aena confirmed delays and confusion across their networks.
Transport Network Issues
In the UK, Thameslink, Southern, Gatwick Express, and Great Northern reported IT problems affecting their entire network, leading to last-minute cancellations in some areas.
Financial Market Disruptions
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) experienced disruptions in market news and data platforms, causing the FTSE 100 index to be calculated 20 minutes later than usual. Some investors faced issues with trading. Similarly, Italy’s Milan Stock Exchange saw a 32-minute delay in the FTSE MIB index calculation. Australian banks like NAB, Commonwealth Bank, and Bendigo Bank also faced system outages. South Africa's Capitec Bank reported global banking service disruptions due to technical failures.
Broadcasting and Communication Failures
Broadcasting services were heavily impacted. David Rhodes, chairman of Sky News Group, apologized on social media for their inability to broadcast live. France’s TF1 and CNews reported major system failures, affecting live video and advertisement displays. In Australia, major broadcasters and Telstra faced operational difficulties.
Healthcare Sector Affected
Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital canceled scheduled surgeries and closed its emergency room. Some NHS units in the UK experienced issues with medical record storage and booking systems.
Identifying the Cause
The crisis appears to stem from an error in a security tool update by CrowdStrike, a cloud-based service using Microsoft’s operating system. Affected systems displayed blue screens (BSOD) and reboot recovery messages, causing widespread operational halts.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz stated on social media that the company is actively collaborating with affected clients to resolve the issue, emphasizing that it is not a security breach or cyberattack.
Implications for Cloud-Based Systems
This incident highlights a significant vulnerability in cloud-based systems: the Single Point of Failure (SPOF). Despite the advantages of centralized management and cost efficiency, a failure in a dominant provider's system, such as Microsoft, can lead to simultaneous global infrastructure paralysis.
Separate from this issue, Microsoft's Office suite, provided via the cloud-based Microsoft 365, also faced problems, which Microsoft is currently working to resolve.
This unprecedented global IT crisis underscores the critical need for robust contingency planning and diversified infrastructure to mitigate the risks of centralized cloud-based systems.
