CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said that over 97% of Windows sensors are back online after an update from the cybersecurity firm caused one of the world’s biggest IT outages.
TakeAway Points:
- CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said that over 97% of Windows sensors are back online after an update from the cybersecurity firm caused one of the world’s biggest IT outages.
- Last week, CrowdStrike issued a routine update to its users around the world that contained a bug that caused Microsoft’s Windows operating system to crash.
- The company’s share price has been hammered since the incident, as CEO Kurtz looks to contain the reputational fallout.
CrowdStrike works to recover after major IT outage
“To our customers still affected, please know we will not rest until we achieve full recovery,” Kurtz said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.
Last week, CrowdStrike issued a routine update to its users around the world, which mainly comprise large businesses, that had a bug that caused Microsoft’s Windows operating system to crash.
Many users woke up on Friday to a blue screen error on Windows. The IT outage sparked chaos around the world, with flights being cancelled, businesses closing early, and even medical staff scrambling to keep operations running.
CrowdStrike gives Apology Gift Cards
Meanwhile, CrowdStrike rolled back the update to fix the issue as CEO Kurtz looks to contain the reputational fallout.
“I am deeply sorry for the disruption this outage has caused and personally apologize to everyone impacted. While I can’t promise perfection, I can promise a response that is focused, effective, and with a sense of urgency,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
A TechCrunch article titled “CrowdStrike offers a $10 apology gift card to say sorry for outage” reported that the company was “offering its partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card as an apology.”
However, TechCrunch previously reported that some people were having trouble using the gift card.
According to the report, when the company was asked about the intention behind the gift cards, a CrowdStrike spokesperson said, “This was intended by an internal team as a token of appreciation to our external partners who were working tirelessly with our customers. Any other characterization is incorrect.”
CrowdStrike Shares decline
Early on Friday, the company issued a defective update to its Falcon vulnerability-protection software that caused PCs, computer servers in data centers and display screens to crash, resulting in grounded flights and canceled medical appointments. The incident ensnared 8.5 million Windows devices, less than 1% of the global total, Microsoft said.
IT staffers quickly worked to fix computers. Meanwhile, hackers sought to take advantage of the confusion by setting up malicious websites that appeared to offer software updates. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz addressed the situation on air with CNBC’s Jim Cramer.
CrowdStrike shares fell 11% on Friday. But then, over the weekend, people shared photos on social media of Windows devices displaying the so-called “blue screen of death,” a sign of computers in need of attention from administrators. CrowdStrike said on Sunday that it was testing a method that would fix affected machines more quickly.
