A widespread disruption related to Windows workstations has affected major companies, such as Sky News UK, Melbourne Airport, or the entire Aena platform, responsible for airports in Spain.
Companies such as banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, broadcasters and television stations, and supermarkets have been left without service after blue screen errors appeared on Windows workstations worldwide.
Thousands of Windows computers are experiencing a blue screen of death (BSOD) issue upon startup, which affects banks, airlines, television networks, supermarkets, and many other companies worldwide.
A failure that comes from the CrowdStrike cybersecurity tool
A faulty update from the cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike is disconnecting affected computers and servers, forcing them into a recovery boot loop so that the machines cannot start properly.
CrowdStrike is widely used by many companies worldwide to manage the security of Windows computers and servers.
Banks, airlines, and Australian television networks were the first to sound the alarm when thousands of machines started to malfunction. Now the issues are spreading as European-based companies begin their workday.
The British chain Sky News is currently unable to broadcast its morning news bulletins, and displays a message apologizing for “the disruption to this broadcast”. Ryanair, one of Europe’s largest airlines, also says it is experiencing a computer problem with “third parties” that is affecting flight departures.
The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States says that all flights of Delta, United, and American Airlines are suspended due to a “communication problem”. And Aena, responsible for all flights in Spain, is announcing delays due to this failure.
In a Reddit thread, hundreds of IT administrators are reporting widespread issues and the steps to fix them involve booting the affected Windows machines in safe mode and navigating to the CrowdStrike directory and deleting a system file.
This will be problematic on some cloud-based servers, or even for Windows laptops that are deployed and used remotely. Microsoft is facing a very busy Friday.
