After a massive Microsoft outage, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the issue has been "identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed." Companies across several industries including airlines, banking and media were hit on Friday by a global outage related to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and software issue at Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm.
Taking to X, Kurtz assured that it was not a cyberattack or a security issue.
"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, and 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," said Kurtz.
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…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
He also urged the organisations to communicate with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.
While acknowledging the error, CrowdStrike said, "Our Engineers are actively working to resolve this issue and there is no need to open a support ticket."
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The outage was caused by an error in the cybersecurity platform Falcon, which secures Windows systems. Businesses across Australia, Japan, India and other countries were hit due to the outage.
Long lines were formed at airports in the US, Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in details and booking services due to the glitch.
Microsoft 365 authorities said that the company was working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact and that they were observing a positive trend in service availability.
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said his ministry and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are actively managing the situation arising out of a global Microsoft outage.
Also Read | Microsoft outage explained: The reason, impact and how the company responded
The civil aviation ministry in collaboration with AAI has implemented manual backup systems to maintain operational continuity, Naidu said in a statement.
Since the check-in processes are carried out manually, long queues are witnessed at the airports.
The minister advised the passengers to cooperate with the airport staff. The ministry said it is "committed" to minimising inconvenience and ensuring the well-being of all travellers.
"I have directed airport authorities and airlines to be compassionate and provide extra seating, water, and food for passengers affected by delays," said Naidu.
Naidu also said, the ministry understands passengers' concerns and it is working to ensure a safe and swift travel of people.
"We have instructed all airlines and airport authorities to keep passengers informed about their flight status and provide necessary assistance," Naidu said, adding that additional measures include regular updates on flight status and deployment of extra staff to assist passengers and address their concerns.
Also, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after its assessment said that around 10 banks and non-banking financial companies experienced minor disruptions that have either been resolved or are currently being addressed.
In a separate statement, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the ministry are closely monitoring the situation, and instructions have been issued to private airlines to promptly inform passengers about the disruptions.
"Our teams are working diligently to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to minimize inconvenience to passengers," Mohol added.
