Worldwide computer failure paralyzes systems

Computer systems are currently being disrupted worldwide. Airlines, media and telecommunications companies are among those affected. The consequences are far-reaching. The most important questions at a glance.

What is the cause and who is responsible?

The US cybersecurity company Crowdstrike is said to be responsible for the computer crash. ABC News reports that the company has already admitted this. Repair work is underway, it continues. The trigger was an error in a program update. The error at Crowdstrike in turn disrupted Microsoft software, reported media such as the financial service Bloomberg. The software giant previously reported problems with its cloud service 365. You can read more about the cause here.

As the AFP news agency reported, Microsoft is taking “measures to limit the damage”.

Who is affected?

From clinics to airports, airlines, banks and TV stations, many areas are affected by the disruption.

The University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, for example, has therefore cancelled all operations planned for Friday at its locations in Kiel and Lübeck, the clinic announced on its website.

Lufthansa reported that booking retrieval and profile access were affected due to the IT problems. The Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings could also experience delays and flight cancellations due to the disruption. The airline Ryanair is also warning of problems. “We are currently experiencing a network disruption due to a global IT failure by a third-party provider that is outside of our control,” the airline announced on the X platform. “We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before the scheduled departure time.” Anyone traveling today who has not yet checked in can do so at the airport.

The Dutch airline KLM is suspending most of its operations due to the computer problems that have occurred worldwide. KLM announced this in Amsterdam. Baggage handling is currently “impossible”.

The American airlines United, Delta and American Airlines have stopped their flights worldwide. Airplanes in the air are still completing their journeys, but no more planes will take off, reports the BBC. ABC News reports that the disruption is causing communication problems for pilots in the air.

According to the BBC, banks are also affected. But the media themselves are also currently experiencing some difficulties. In Great Britain, the Sky News channel was temporarily off the air. The Swiss newspaper “Blick” and French television stations also reported problems.

What is being done?

“We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform,” a Microsoft spokesperson told the German Press Agency. “We assume that a solution will be found shortly.”

The problem has now been resolved. Customers are now being referred to a download portal for a new update, wrote Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz on the online platform X.

Was it a cyberattack?

Security circles in Germany said that they assumed there was a technical malfunction as a result of a faulty software update.

What does Crowdstrike do?

The American company plays a central role in protecting against IT threats and, among other things, secures websites. One of its products, called Falcon, is used to detect malicious activities in data traffic.

How great is the financial damage caused by the outages?

That will probably only be possible to estimate after weeks or months. Because in addition to the immediate costs, later demands from affected customers could also play a role. Crowdstrike’s shares felt the effects of the problems in pre-market trading, with a loss of more than 20 percent at times. Read more about this here.

How can it happen that problems can be felt across such a broad front at one provider?

One reason is the concentration in the tech industry. A service provider often serves thousands of companies. Problems at the provider then have a broad impact. In the past, errors by IT security companies have paralyzed dozens of websites at once.