A global Microsoft Windows outage is impacting banks, law firms, airports and media organisations, with Windows laptops and PCs showing a blue screen, as early reports suggest that a Crowdstrike update has caused the crisis.
Crowdstrike is a US cybersecurity company that provides endpoint security for organisations around the world. The issue is reportedly related to an update to its Falcon sensor.
Microsoft has said that it is investigating an issue impacting users ability to access Microsoft 365 apps and services. According to the latest service health status (see below), all 365 services are impacted. Downdetector also reports a major spike in Microsoft 365 outages reported in the last 24 hours.
This article is being updated, let us know if you have relevant information.
10.45am BST: Crowdstrike’s CEO George Kurtz issues statement saying: “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 refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
10.30am BST: Sydney-based CTO of a top 10 accountant says this was definitely a Crowdstrike issue and they are bringing their systems back online now.
9.30am BST: IT director of a global law firm confirms that two thirds of the firm are impacted. He said it was a Crowdstrike update that caused the issue.
