Why this happened, who is CrowdStrike and what is BSOD and why everything “fell”, we will tell later in the material. Techno 24.

What started it all?

The problem occurred due to an error Hawk Sensor Companies operating in the field of cyber security CrowdStrike. This important software is designed to protect systems from cyber attacks.

On the morning of July 19, CrowdStrike warned its users that Windows systems were experiencing “a failsafe error or ‘blue screen of death’ related to the Falcon Sensor.” The company’s engineering teams are currently working on a fix for the issue.

Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)

This is a critical error on Windows computers that stops all processes and displays an error message on a blue (or black) screen. This problem is usually serious and indicates a major system failure that requires immediate attention.

Why was the failure so big?

While in theory this issue should only affect users using the Falcon Sensor, the reality is more complex.

CrowdStrike’s software is widely used, and related outages affected a wide range of platforms, including:

• Amazon Web Services,
• Microsoft365,
• azure,
• Instagram,
• eBay,
• Visa,
• AT&T.

Such a large number of widespread services in the world, to which almost everything that works on a computer depends, allows you to understand that the scale of the problem covers almost the entire world. How serious everything seems can be understood by looking at the statistics of Downdetector, a service that tracks malfunctions in digital products around the world.

Some services stopped working normally due to malfunction / 24 Channel Screenshot

Terrible impact on the world

The consequences of this failure are significant. It can be likened to a dress rehearsal of the digital apocalypse.

• Several airlines, including Delta, American Airlines and United Airlines, were forced to ground due to communication problems caused by the outage.
• Additionally, some electronic payment systems in supermarkets around the world have crashed, preventing customers from paying for items.
• A number of services and companies in Ukraine also reported problems with work due to a Windows failure, including Nova Poshta, Monobank, Vodafone, Sens Bank.
• Even the London Stock Exchange and other financial institutions were affected by the crash.

How to solve the problem?

CrowdStrike software is typically maintained by a company’s system administrator. For most users experiencing issues, this probably means they’ll need to report the issue to their system administrator and wait for it to be resolved.

In a message to users, CrowdStrike notes that there is no need to open a support ticket with CrowdStrike as the company’s engineers are aware of the issue and are actively working on a solution.

There is also an active discussion on Reddit where system administrators share their experiences trying to resolve the issue.

What to do:

1. Restart Windows in safe mode.
2. Next you need to go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike directory.
3. Here you need to find the CrowdStrike system file. C-00000291*.sysand delete it.
4. After that you need to restart the computer or server and everything should return to normal working condition.

Microsoft and CrowdStrike are working on a solution

CrowdStrike has acknowledged the issue and is currently investigating the issue. Microsoft also said it is taking all necessary troubleshooting steps following Windows issues that have caused IT systems to fail worldwide.

As the situation continues to evolve, users and businesses around the world are experiencing significant disruptions, highlighting the critical role of cybersecurity software and the potential far-reaching impact of its failures.

More and more services are reporting crashes, so until the issue is resolved, it will be large-scale and will impact different areas.