Microsoft Outage: House Homeland Security Committee Summons CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz To Testify on Global IT Outage
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to reportedly testify before the House Homeland Security Committee about a global IT outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike Falcon content update for Windows hosts, which led to significant disruptions across various sectors, including banking, aviation, and healthcare, impacting approximately 8.5 million Windows devices.
New Delhi, July 23: CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has been reportedly called to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee regarding a significant global IT outage that affected Microsoft Windows systems. The Microsoft outage, which resulted from a faulty software update, caused widespread disruptions which included businesses, flight cancellations, halted hospital procedures and interrupted broadcasting services.
The Microsoft outage incident saw numerous Windows PCs displaying the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). George Kurtz explained that the outage was not a result of a cyberattack but was due to an issue with CrowdStrike Falcon content update for Windows hosts. Microsoft Outage: CrowdStrike Triggered Global IT Outage, How This Country Managed To Remain Less Affected; Know Why.
As per a report of The Washington Post, the Homeland Security Committee emphasised the need for transparency about the incident and the steps being taken to prevent future occurrences. The committee chairs, Mark Green and Andrew R. Garbarino to understand the details and resolving efforts surrounding the Microsoft IT outage. The committee has requested that CrowdStrike schedule a hearing by Wednesday.
The Impact of the Global Outage
The Microsoft outage triggered by a faulty software update, had a broad impact on various sectors. According to multiple reports, the disruption affected key functions of the global economy, including banking, aviation, healthcare, emergency services and more. Thousands of flights were delayed or canceled and numerous healthcare systems had to reschedule appointments. The incident highlighted the national security risks associated with network dependency.
According to Microsoft's estimation, approximately 8.5 million Windows devices were impacted by the issue. According to multiple reports, even after three days of the initial global outage, Delta Airlines was still experiencing flight cancellations and encountering BSOD on Monday. Shares of CrowdStrike fell by about 13 percent on Monday following the global outage. Microsoft Says CrowdStrike Bug Hit 8.5 Million Windows Devices.
The Testimony and Future Steps
The House Homeland Security Committee has asked George Kurtz to testify about the incident and elaborate on the mitigation steps CrowdStrike is taking. The testimony aims to provide clarity on how such a massive IT outage occurred and what measures can be implemented to prevent similar issues in the future.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2024 08:49 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).