A global cyber breach has hit critical services around the world, disrupting public transport connections, delaying international flights and restricting operations at healthcare facilities and businesses.
Here’s what you need to know
What is behind the failure?
The outage appears to be caused, at least in part, by a software update issued by CrowdStrike on Microsoft Windows systems.
The US cybersecurity firm told customers on Friday (19) that engineers were addressing the issue, according to a notice seen by CNN .
The issue is specific to Falcon, which is designed to protect files saved in the cloud.
How long will the outage last?
Microsoft said the “underlying cause” of the outage “has been fixed,” adding that the residual impact is still affecting some services.
“We are implementing additional mitigations to provide relief,” the tech company said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Some services have been restored, but others are still dealing with outages.
Who was affected?
Global banks, medical services and critical infrastructure were impacted by the disruption.
Medical providers including the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and one of Europe’s largest healthcare facilities in northern Germany have been stifled by IT delays.
Meanwhile, banks, broadcasters and supermarkets in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have been affected, including broadcasters ABC News and Sky News.
Airlines are the hardest hit
Scenes of nervous travelers crowded the halls of major airports on Friday as U.S. carriers and other international airlines in Europe, Asia and the Middle East had to delay and cancel flights.
There are about 110,000 commercial flights scheduled worldwide today, according to preliminary data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, shared with CNN .
As of 7 a.m. ET, there were 1,390 flights canceled globally. That number is growing.
International response
The White House says it is “investigating” the disruption caused by Friday morning’s cyber outages.
“We are aware of the incident and are investigating the issue and impacts,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told CNN .
Meanwhile, the UK government held an emergency meeting to discuss the disruption, Downing Street said, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
