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CrowdStrike Outage Affects 8.5M Devices, Potential $5.4 Billion Losses

Jul 24, 2024, 06:57 PM

CrowdStrike experienced a major IT outage last Friday, causing global disruptions and affecting 8.5 million Windows devices. The outage, which resulted in widespread Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, was triggered by a faulty content configuration update. The incident has drawn comparisons to previous large-scale outages by companies like Rogers, Meta, and Amazon. Harvard expert Andrew Selbst suggested that CrowdStrike could face significant lawsuits from businesses affected by the outage. Preliminary reports indicate that insured losses could range from $540 million to $1.08 billion for Fortune 500 companies, with total losses potentially reaching $5.4 billion. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz disclosed that more than 97 percent of Windows sensors have recovered. The company has released a Preliminary Post Incident Review (PIR) and plans to implement new measures, including staggered update rollouts and enhanced internal testing, to prevent future incidents. Despite the crisis, CrowdStrike's stock has seen mixed reactions, with some investors remaining optimistic about the company's long-term prospects.