Global Chaos: Microsoft-CrowdStrike Outage Disrupts Airports, Tech, and More

New Delhi: A major outage hit Microsoft’s cloud service Azure on Friday, affecting many industries globally and in India. The outage, caused by an update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, led companies to switch to manual processes and cancel some services. While things were getting back to normal by the end of the day, there was still uncertainty as Microsoft worked to reassure users and the Indian government outlined steps to fix the issue.

The outage caused many devices using Windows operating systems to crash, with millions of users seeing the “blue screen of death.” It lasted for hours and disrupted transportation systems, flights, banking operations, stock exchanges, brokerages, hospitals, auto companies, and other services worldwide.

Payment Systems

Media, payment systems in Australia and the UK, 911 services in several US states, and services at the London Stock Exchange and Sky News were also affected. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on social media that they were working closely with CrowdStrike and others to help customers restore their systems.

India’s IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said the cause of the outage had been identified and updates were released to resolve the issue. He added that the country’s emergency response team, Cert-In, was involved in handling the situation. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized to customers and said the company was actively working to fix the issue.

Impact on Flights in India

In India, the outage caused long queues at airports, flight delays, and cancellations, affecting systems used for flight operations, passenger check-in, and baggage handling. Airlines had to switch to manual or backup systems, leading to delays.

According to aviation analytics company Cirium, there were about 110,000 scheduled commercial flights globally on July 19. As of 3:30 PM IST, 1,390 flights had been canceled. In India, 56 out of 3,652 scheduled flights were canceled.

Prioritized Operations

Airlines prioritized operations to minimize delays. The Civil Aviation Ministry implemented manual backup systems with the Airports Authority of India to maintain operations. The ministry also worked with airlines and the Central Industrial Security Force to minimize disruption and inconvenience to passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation monitored the situation closely to ensure safety and procedural measures were in place.

India’s leading car maker Maruti Suzuki said its production and dispatch operations were temporarily halted but resumed later in the day without any major impact.

Financial Services Impact

The Reserve Bank of India reported minor disruptions in about 10 banks, which have mostly been resolved. The RBI advised regulated entities to remain alert and ensure operational resilience and continuity.

Some brokerage firms experienced issues, with 5paisa reporting affected systems due to the outage. A local brokerage dealer said only brokerages using Microsoft software were affected, and those using the Azure cloud platform experienced the issue. The National Stock Exchange reported normal operations.

Healthcare services at hospitals like Max and Fortis were also disrupted. Max Healthcare had to switch to manual processes to service patients but later restored systems. Fortis experienced a brief interruption in diagnostic services, which was managed efficiently. Apollo Hospitals reported no impact.

Government Intervention

Minister Vaishnaw said the IT Ministry was in constant touch with Microsoft, which was working with affected entities. Cert-In coordinated with chief information security officers of critical infrastructure entities. Many systems were partially restored, and Cert-In issued a technical advisory for mitigation routes.

Not a Security Scare

CrowdStrike clarified that the disruptions were not due to a security incident or cyberattack. CEO George Kurtz said they were working with customers affected by a defect in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux devices were not impacted. The issue has been identified, and a fix has been deployed.

Unprecedented Outage

Cybersecurity experts described the impact as unprecedented. Security consultant Troy Hunt called it “the largest IT outage in history.” Omer Grossman, CIO at CyberArk, said it was one of the most significant cyber issues of 2024, causing dramatic damage to global business processes. Grossman added that since the devices crashed, they couldn’t be updated remotely and would need individual resolution, leading to potential financial impact due to business loss and replacement costs.

Dhiraj Gupta, CTO of fraud detection firm MFilterIt, said the outage highlighted the interconnectedness of systems and the importance of tracking providers. Vishal Salvi, CEO of Quick Heal Technologies, emphasized the need for proactive defense strategies and comprehensive contingency plans to safeguard digital infrastructure.

The article underscores the need for businesses to have disaster recovery strategies and regular data backups to minimize disruptions during such incidents.