{"id":13199,"date":"2024-07-19T12:11:33","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T18:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/organizations-chose-crowdstrike-for-cybersecurity\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:30:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:30:47","slug":"organizations-chose-crowdstrike-for-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/organizations-chose-crowdstrike-for-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizations chose CrowdStrike for cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A CrowdStrike office is shown in Sunnyvale, California, on Friday. An overnight outage was blamed on a software update that cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike sent to Microsoft computers of its corporate customers including many airlines. (Haven Daley\/The Associated Press)<\/span>Haven Daley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Airlines, banks, hospitals and other risk-averse organizations around the world chose cybersecurity company CrowdStrike to protect their computer systems from hackers and data breaches. But all it took was one faulty CrowdStrike software update to cause global disruptions Friday that grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, retailers and other services. Some experts say it shows the dangers of organizations around the world relying too heavily on a small number of technology providers.<\/p>\n

Airlines, banks, hospitals and other risk-averse organizations around the world chose cybersecurity company CrowdStrike to protect their computer systems from hackers and data breaches.<\/p>\n

But all it took was one faulty CrowdStrike software update to cause global disruptions Friday that grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, retailers and other services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a function of the very homogenous technology that goes into the backbone of all of our IT infrastructure,\u201d said Gregory Falco, an assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University. \u201cWhat really causes this mess is that we rely on very few companies, and everybody uses the same folks, so everyone goes down at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trouble with the update issued by CrowdStrike and affecting computers running Microsoft\u2019s Windows operating system was not a hacking incident or cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t an easy fix. It required \u201cboots on the ground\u201d to remediate, said Gartner analyst Eric Grenier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fix is working, it\u2019s just a very manual process and there\u2019s no magic key to unlock it,\u201d Grenier said. \u201cI think that is probably what companies are struggling with the most here.\u201d<\/p>\n

While not everyone is a client of CrowdStrike and its platform known as Falcon, it is one of the leading cybersecurity providers, particularly in the transportation and banking sectors that have a lot at stake in keeping their computer systems working.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re usually risk-averse organizations that don\u2019t want something that\u2019s crazy innovative, but that can work and also cover their butts when something goes wrong. That\u2019s what CrowdStrike is,\u201d Falco said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re looking around at their colleagues in other sectors and saying, \u2018Oh, you know, this company also uses that, so I\u2019m gonna need them, too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Worrying about the fragility of a globally connected technology ecosystem is nothing new. It\u2019s what drove fears in the 1990s of a technical glitch that could cause chaos at the turn of the millennium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is basically what we were all worried about with Y2K, except it\u2019s actually happened this time,\u201d wrote Australian cybersecurity consultant Troy Hunt on the social platform X.<\/p>\n

Across the world Friday, affected computers were showing the \u201cblue screen of death\u201d \u2013 a sign that something went wrong with Microsoft\u2019s Windows operating system.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s different now is \u201cthat these companies are even more entrenched,\u201d Falco said. \u201cWe like to think that we have a lot of players available. But at the end of the day, the biggest companies use all the same stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded in 2011, CrowdStrike describes itself in its annual report to financial regulators as having \u201creinvented cybersecurity for the cloud era and transformed the way cybersecurity is delivered and experienced by customers.\u201d It emphasizes its use of artificial intelligence in helping to keep pace with adversaries.<\/p>\n

The Austin, Texas-based firm is one of the more visible cybersecurity companies in the world and spends heavily on marketing, including Super Bowl ads. At cybersecurity conferences, it\u2019s known for large booths displaying massive action-figure statues representing different state-sponsored hacking groups that CrowdStrike technology promises to defend against.<\/p>\n

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz is among the most highly compensated in the world, recording more than $230 million in total compensation in the last three years. Kurtz is also a driver for a CrowdStrike-sponsored car racing team.<\/p>\n

After his initial statement about the problem was criticized for lack of contrition, Kurtz apologized in a later social media post Friday and on NBC\u2019s \u201cToday Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption,\u201d he said on X.<\/p>\n

Richard Stiennon, a cybersecurity industry analyst, said this was a historic mistake by CrowdStrike.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is easily the worst faux pas, technical faux pas or glitch of any security software provider ever,\u201d said Stiennon, who has tracked the cybersecurity industry for 24 years.<\/p>\n

While the problem is an easy technical fix, he said, its impact could be long lasting for some organizations. \u201cIt\u2019s really, really difficult to touch millions of machines. And people are on vacation right now, so, you know, the CEO will be coming back from his trip to the Bahamas in a couple of weeks and he won\u2019t be able to use his computers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stiennon said he did not think the outage revealed a bigger problem with the cybersecurity industry or CrowdStrike as a company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe markets are going to forgive them, the customers are going to forgive them, and this will blow over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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