Major Tech Outage Causes Chaos as 911 Lines Go Down in Multiple States
Introduction:
A major tech outage involving Microsoft and CrowdStrike has caused chaos across the world, resulting in the disruption of emergency services in several states. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security are currently investigating the matter.
Tech Outage Impacts Emergency Services:
The U.S. Emergency Alerts System reported that multiple 911 lines in various states were down due to the outage. The Alaska State Troopers confirmed that both 911 and non-emergency call services were affected, while similar messages were posted by emergency services in Ohio and New Hampshire. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management revealed that 911 centers, hospitals, airports, and emergency management systems in Oregon were also significantly impacted.
Impact on City Services:
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler issued an emergency declaration in response to the outage, as it was affecting city servers, data servers, employee computers, and other systems. The outage was particularly disruptive for city services reliant on Microsoft Operating Systems using CrowdStrike Endpoint Protection, including emergency communications.
Federal Agencies Respond:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in collaboration with Microsoft, CrowdStrike, and local officials, is working to address the system outages around the world. The agency’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is coordinating with federal, state, local, and critical infrastructure partners to assess and resolve the outages. The White House’s National Security Council is also investigating the incident, which has had global impacts on businesses, hospitals, and airlines.
CrowdStrike’s Response:
George Kurtz, the head of CrowdStrike, assured that the IT issue causing the outage was not the result of a cyberattack or malicious actors. He stated that the problem had been identified, isolated, and a fix had been deployed. Kurtz emphasized that Mac and Linux hosts were not affected by the issue.
Flight Delays and FAA Intervention:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acknowledged the outage and stated that it was closely monitoring the situation, particularly in relation to U.S.-based airlines. Several airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines, sought ground stops for their planes during the outage. The FAA is providing assistance until the issue is resolved.
Microsoft’s Response:
Microsoft’s cloud unit Azure acknowledged the issue and mentioned that it affected virtual machines running Windows OS and the CrowdStrike Falcon agent. The company assured users that a resolution was forthcoming and that they were working on redirecting impacted traffic to alternate systems. They expressed optimism about a positive trend in service availability.
Insights from Experts:
Ciaran Martin, a Professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and former head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, highlighted the vulnerability of the world’s core Internet infrastructure exposed by this outage. He described the situation as an uncomfortable illustration of its fragility.
Conclusion:
The major tech outage involving Microsoft and CrowdStrike has caused widespread disruption, particularly affecting emergency services and airline operations. While investigations are still ongoing, efforts are being made by federal agencies and tech companies to resolve the issue and restore services. This incident underscores the importance of bolstering the resilience of critical Internet infrastructure.
