Tech services restored to WA businesses after global outage

Cybersecurity expert explains origins of global tech outage

A faulty update caused several companies across the globe to lose tech services, including airlines operating in SeaTac airport and the Washington Voter Portal.

SEATAC, Wash. - Friday's disruptions began when a faulty update was pushed out from CrowdStrike for one of its tools, "Falcon." In a statement about the ongoing situation, the company said the defect was found "in a single content update for Windows hosts" — noting that Mac and Linux systems were not impacted.

Because scores of companies rely on CrowdStrike for their security needs with Windows as their operating system, the consequences of this kind of technical problem were far-reaching. As a result, it affected computers across the world by showing the "Blue Screen of Death" error message.

Long lines formed at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services during peak summer travel — disrupting thousands of flights and stranding thousands of passengers.

Update (4:15 p.m.)

A software disruption that affected the services of multiple companies around the world has been restored, according to the Washington Office of the Secretary of State.

CrowdStrike, a software-providing cybersecurity firm, caused the outage by deploying a faulty update. Several airlines that fly from SeaTac Airport had their systems affected, along with the Washington voter portal and Microsoft Windows.

At 3:30 p.m., the Secretary of State posted on social media that all affected critical services have been restored. All companies affected by the outage should resume normal business functions on Monday.

As of 3:15 p.m., there were dozens of delays and cancelations for Sea-Tac Airport, according to FlightAware:

Delays at Sea-Tac: 234
Cancelations at Sea-Tac: 64

Some of the airlines affected are Delta, Alaska, United, American, Sun Country, British Airways, Hawaiian, Japan and Skywest.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack — and that a fix was on the way. It added that the problem happened when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been closely monitoring the issue.

Initial outage (5:30 a.m.)

A widespread technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off-air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers.

At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of companies worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

CrowdStrike has said a fix is on the way. Still, chaos deepened hours after the problem was first detected.

The global outage also impacted systems for some airlines that fly from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, officials said.

They told travelers to check their airlines for the latest flight information and to give themselves extra time when arriving at the airport.

Cruise passengers bound for Alaska may be out of luck

Three cruise ships bound for Alaska are currently moored in Seattle. Together, these vessels plan to carry nearly 7,400 passengers to the Klondike. Two of these ships are owned by the Royal Carribean Group. The other docked in Bell Harbor is owned by Oceania Cruises. Both ownership groups plan to depart as scheduled.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson tells FOX 13 Seattle they've been working with customers scheduled to depart Seattle. Guests who booked flights through their concierge system had their flights rebooked.

At this point there's no promise of refunds or rebooking missed trips on the cruise ships.

What to know about Friday's global IT outage

Friday's disruptions began when a faulty update was pushed out from CrowdStrike for one of its tools, "Falcon." In a statement about the ongoing situation, the company said the defect was found "in a single content update for Windows hosts" — noting that Mac and Linux systems were not impacted.

But, because scores of companies rely on CrowdStrike for their security needs with Windows as their operating system, the consequences of this kind of technical problem have been far-reaching. As a result, affected computer after computer showed the "blue screen of death" error message.

Long lines formed at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services during peak summer travel — disrupting thousands of flights. Banks in South Africa and New Zealand reported outages impacting payments. Some news stations, particularly in Australia, were unable to broadcast for hours. And hospitals had problems with their appointment systems, leading to delays and sometimes cancelations for critical care, while officials in some U.S. states warned of 911 problems in their areas.

Elsewhere, people experienced more minor inconveniences, including trouble ordering ahead at Starbucks, causing long lines at some of the coffee chain’s stores. Some billboards in New York City’s famous Times Square also went dark.

Experts stress that Friday’s disruptions underscore the vulnerability of worldwide dependence on software that comes from only a handful of providers.

"It is an 'all our eggs are in one basket' situation," Craig Shue, professor and computer science department head at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said in emailed commentary. "This lets us make sure our ‘basket’ is high quality: the software provider tries to identify threats and respond to them quickly. But at the same time, if anything goes wrong and the basket fails, we have a lot of broken eggs."

Disruptions on Friday continued hours after CrowdStrike first identified the issue. But both the company and Microsoft said that they're working to get systems back online.

In an emailed statement, CrowdStrike said that it was "actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts" — adding that a fix "had been deployed" for the identified issue.

CrowdStrike President and CEO George Kurtz later apologized. "We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption," he wrote on social media platform X.

Microsoft spokesperson Frank X. Shaw said that the company was "actively supporting customers to assist in their recovery." Both CrowdStrike and Microsoft are also appearing to engage IT personnel on official online channels, such as Reddit.

While the problem is fixable, it requires some expertise — and its impacts could last long past Friday, with Kurtz noting earlier that some customers may need a "manual" fix. Cybersecurity experts also warn of bad actors who may reach out claiming they can help. Smaller companies or organizations with less IT resources are particularly at risk.

Gartner analyst Eric Grenier noted that those affected should make sure they're talking to trusted organizations as they work towards recovery. "Attackers will definitely prey on organizations as a result of this," he said.

What is CrowdStrike?

CrowdStrike is a U.S. cybersecurity company that provides software to companies around the world and across industries. It bills itself as being the globe's most advanced cloud-based security technology provider.

"We stop breaches," the cybersecurity company says on its website.

According to its website, CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 and launched in early 2012. It listed on the Nasdaq exchange five years ago. Last month, the Austin, Texas, company reported that its revenue rose 33% in the latest quarter from the same quarter a year earlier — logging a net profit of $42.8 million, up from $491,000 in the first quarter of last year. It reported having 29,000 subscribing customers.

CrowdStrike has a partnership with Amazon Web Services and its "Falcon for Defender" security technology is designed to supplement Microsoft Defender to prevent attacks.

Major global tech outage grounds flights

A widespread technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers.

The Associated Press and FOX TV Digital Team contributed to this report.