CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm responsible for last week’s significant global computer outage, has revealed that the disruption was caused by a flaw in its test software.
In a detailed incident report issued on Wednesday, the company explained that the problem originated from a bug in its content validation process. This bug led to one of the software updates being mistakenly approved and distributed despite containing problematic data.
The malfunction affected millions of Windows computers worldwide, leading CrowdStrike to announce that it will revise its approach to software updates to prevent similar issues in the future.
Specifically, updates of the type that caused the outage will now be rolled out in stages rather than all at once. This gradual deployment strategy will help identify potential issues before they impact a large number of users.
CrowdStrike’s Falcon software, widely utilized across various industries to detect and manage malware and security breaches, was at the center of the incident.
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On Monday, the company reported that approximately 8.5 million devices were affected by the outage, and it cautioned its customers about the increased risk of malicious attacks exploiting the situation.
The disruption had a broad impact, affecting numerous sectors and resulting in widespread “blue screens of death,” which rendered affected systems unable to reboot. The airline industry experienced particularly severe consequences, with Delta Airlines, a major US carrier, being notably impacted.
CrowdStrike indicated on Tuesday that it expects a full resolution and return to normal operations by Thursday.
In response to the incident, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has been called to testify before the US Congress to provide an explanation and discuss the measures the company will implement to prevent such occurrences in the future.