Much of the world faced online disarray Friday as a affected companies and services across industries 害羞草研究所� grounding flights, knocking banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air.

At the heart of the massive disruption is , a cybersecurity firm that worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

CrowdStrike has said a fix is on the way. Still, hours after the problem was first detected.

Here害羞草研究所檚 what you need to know.

How did Friday害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所榖lue screen害羞草研究所� outage emerge?

Friday害羞草研究所檚 disruptions began when a faulty update was pushed out from CrowdStrike for one of its tools, 害羞草研究所淔alcon.害羞草研究所� In a statement about the ongoing situation, the company said the defect was found 害羞草研究所渋n a single content update for Windows hosts害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� noting that Mac and Linux systems were not impacted.

But, because scores of companies rely on CrowdStrike for their security needs with Windows as their operating system, the consequences of this kind of technical problem have been far-reaching. As a result, affected computer after computer showed the 害羞草研究所渂lue screen of death害羞草研究所� error message.

Long lines in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services during peak summer travel 害羞草研究所� disrupting thousands of flights. Banks and New Zealand reported outages impacting payments. Some news stations, particularly in Australia, were unable to broadcast for hours. And had problems with their appointment systems, leading to delays and sometimes cancelations for critical care, while officials in some U.S. states in their areas.

Elsewhere, people experienced more minor inconveniences, including trouble ordering ahead at Starbucks, causing long lines at some of the coffee chain害羞草研究所檚 stores. Some billboards in New York City害羞草研究所檚 famous Times Square .

Experts stress that Friday害羞草研究所檚 disruptions underscore the vulnerability of worldwide dependence on software that comes from only a handful of providers.

害羞草研究所淚t is an 害羞草研究所榓ll our eggs are in one basket害羞草研究所� situation,害羞草研究所� Craig Shue, professor and computer science department head at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said in emailed commentary. 害羞草研究所淭his lets us make sure our 害羞草研究所榖asket害羞草研究所� is high quality: the software provider tries to identify threats and respond to them quickly. But at the same time, if anything goes wrong and the basket fails, we have a lot of broken eggs.害羞草研究所�

What is CrowdStrike?

is a U.S. cybersecurity company that provides software to companies around the world and across industries. It bills itself as being the globe害羞草研究所檚 most advanced cloud-based security technology provider.

害羞草研究所淲e stop breaches,害羞草研究所� the cybersecurity company says on its website.

According to its website, CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 and launched in early 2012. It listed on the Nasdaq exchange five years ago. Last month, the Austin, Texas, company reported that its revenue rose 33% in the latest quarter from the same quarter a year earlier 害羞草研究所� logging a net profit of $42.8 million, up from $491,000 in the first quarter of last year. It reported having 29,000 subscribing customers.

CrowdStrike has a partnership with Amazon Web Services and its 害羞草研究所淔alcon for Defender害羞草研究所� security technology is designed to supplement Microsoft Defender to prevent attacks.

Is there a fix?

Disruptions on Friday continued hours after CrowdStrike first identified the issue. But both the company and Microsoft said that they害羞草研究所檙e .

In an emailed statement, CrowdStrike said that it was 害羞草研究所渁ctively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� adding that a fix 害羞草研究所渉ad been deployed害羞草研究所� for the identified issue.

CrowdStrike President and CEO George Kurtz later apologized. 害羞草研究所淲e understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption,害羞草研究所� he wrote on .

Microsoft spokesperson Frank X. Shaw said that the company was 害羞草研究所渁ctively supporting customers to assist in their recovery.害羞草研究所� Both CrowdStrike and Microsoft are also appearing to engage IT personnel on official online channels, such as Reddit.

While the problem is fixable, it requires some expertise 害羞草研究所� and its impacts could last long past Friday, with Kurtz noting earlier that some customers may need a 害羞草研究所渕anual害羞草研究所� fix. Cybersecurity experts also warn of bad actors who may reach out claiming they can help. Smaller companies or organizations with less IT resources are particularly at risk.

Gartner analyst Eric Grenier noted that those affected should make sure they害羞草研究所檙e talking to trusted organizations as they work towards recovery. 害羞草研究所淎ttackers will definitely prey on organizations as a result of this,害羞草研究所� he said.

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO: