Flights, banks and media are affected as internet users report global outages

NEW YORK (AP) — A faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday, grounding flights, downing some financial companies and news media and disrupting hospitals, small businesses and government buildings.

The magnitude of the disruptions is emphasized the vulnerability of a digitalized world dependent on only a few providers for key computer services.

The problem was caused by an update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and only affected customers using Microsoft Windows, the world’s most popular operating system for personal computers. This was not the result of hacking or a cyber attack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on its way.

Businesses and governments around the world faced hours of disruption – their computer screens glowing blue with error messages – as they scrambled to deal with the fallout. CrowdStrike’s CEO said some of their systems require time-consuming manual repairs.

Thousands of flights were canceled and tens of thousands were delayed, leading to long lines at airports in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Airlines lost access to check-in and booking services in the middle of the summer travel season. By late afternoon Eastern Time, the worst appeared to be over, although there were still lingering cancellations and delays due to the cascading effect of the disruption.

Several local TV stations in the US were banned from broadcasting the news early Friday, and some state and local governments reported problems at courts, auto departments, unemployment agencies, emergency call centers and other offices, but as the day progressed, many of the systems were restored normal.

Affected hospitals had problems with appointment systems, forcing them to suspend patient visits and cancel some surgeries.

Alison Baulos said her 73-year-old father’s heart surgery in Paducah, Kentucky, was canceled Friday morning because of the technical glitch, leaving her family scared and worried.

“It really makes you realize how much we rely on technology and how scary it is,” Baulos said in an interview. She said her father was waiting at Baptist Hospital to find out what would happen next. A telephone message left at the hospital was not immediately returned.

American Express said it was temporarily having trouble processing transactions, while TD Bank responded to online complaints by saying it was working to restore customers’ access to their accounts.

Elsewhere, people experienced minor inconveniences, including problems pre-ordering at Starbucks, causing long lines at some of the coffee chain’s stores.

In New York City’s Times Square, the blue “recovery” screens popping up on laptops appeared on several giant electronic billboards just before 12:30 p.m. A few were dark Friday afternoon.

A disturbing reminder of vulnerability

Cyber ​​expert James Bore said real damage would be caused. “All these systems run on the same software,” says Bore. “We’ve made all these tools so widespread that when things inevitably go wrong – and they will, as we’ve seen – they go wrong on a massive scale.”

The head of Germany’s IT security agency, Claudia Plattner, said “we cannot expect a very quick solution.” A prediction for exactly when all systems will be operational is difficult, but “it won’t take hours,” she added.

CrowdStrike said in a recording on its customer service line that the issue was related to “the Falcon sensor,” referring to one of its products used to block online attacks. The company says it has 29,000 customers.

In an interview on NBC’s “Today Show,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized and said the company “deeply regrets the impact we’ve caused on customers, on travelers and on everyone affected by this, including our businesses.”

“We know what the problem is” and are working to fix it, Kurtz said. However, he noted that it could take “some time” for certain customers, especially those without in-house expertise.

Although CrowdStrike’s update was automated, the fix requires hands-on work such as deleting corrupted files, which could take days or longer for some customers, says Forrester analyst Allie Mellen.

“Given that CrowdStrike has a lot of customers, a lot of Fortune 500 customers, and they probably have millions of (computers) under management, this creates a bigger problem,” Mellen said. “It will be a long and difficult process.”

Ann Johnson, corporate vice president and deputy chief information security officer at Microsoft, said late Friday afternoon that “at this point I would say that customers are receiving or have received the necessary information they need and the support they need – I understand that it is a very big problem.”

She said Microsoft’s primary focus is getting customers back online, but couldn’t estimate how long that might take.

In Alaska, the state’s justice system returned to functionality after repairs that took 12 hours to complete, spokesperson Rebecca Koford said. In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds said the state’s critical technology systems were back up and running by mid-afternoon.

Shares of Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike ended Friday down more than 11%. Microsoft’s stock price fell less than 1%.

While the impact of the outage was felt far and wide, forecasting firm Capital Economics said it was likely to have little impact on the global economy.

Cybersecurity experts say those affected by the outage should also be wary of bad actors claiming they can help. “Attackers will certainly attack organizations as a result,” said Gartner analyst Eric Grenier.

In one letter to customers On CrowdStrike’s website, Kurtz said the outage did not affect Falcon systems or security scans.

Air travel has been delayed everywhere

Most airlines attribute the problems to their booking systems. Thousands of flights were affected in the US alone, although East Coast airlines said by late morning they were beginning to ease problems and resume some service. However, unclogging the system takes time.

At Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Sarah Schafer was delayed from attending her cousin’s 50th birthday party in Florida. She had been waiting for almost three hours with no indication of when her flight would be rebooked.

“I seem calm,” said Schafer, who was using a cane because of an ankle injury. “But my angry side might be coming out.”

Airlines and railways in Britain faced long waiting times. And airports across Europe have suspended landings or halted takeoffs for several hours due to problems checking in passengers.

Saskia Oettinghaus, a member of the German Olympic diving team, was stuck at Berlin airport.

“We are on our way to Paris for the Olympic Games and now we are standing still here for the time being,” said Oettinghaus.

In Cancun, Mexico, the top tourist destination on the Caribbean coast, the state government said there were 24 cancellations and 100 delayed flights. Some travelers tried to cheer up the long wait by singing the traditional Mexican song “Cielito Lindo,” while a band also stranded at the Cancun airport played.

Broadcasters go dark, operations are postponed, ‘blue screens of death’

In Australia, national news channels – including ABC and Sky News Australia – were unable to broadcast for hours. Some newscasters took to the air from dark offices, in front of computers with blue error screens.

In the U.S., KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, broadcast Scripps News instead of local news until about 5:35 a.m., the stations said on their website. Other local stations owned by Scripps reported similar problems, although Scripps spokesman Michael Perry said early Friday that 90% of stations were able to broadcast local news.

Hospitals in several countries also reported problems.

Britain’s National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctors’ practices as appointment and patient record systems were affected.

At Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, all scheduled non-emergency surgeries, procedures and medical visits were canceled Friday because of the outage, a spokesperson said.

Some international shipping was also disrupted.

A major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland, said it was facing problems. And at sister ports Los Angeles and Long Beach, maritime terminals were affected, although the outage caused no significant disruptions.

___

This version corrects the spelling of the last name of the Alaska Court System spokesperson in Koford.

___

Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok, McHugh from Frankfurt, Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand, Hadero from New York and Ortutay from Oakland, California. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.