The situation is gradually returning to normal on Saturday after a major computer failure that caused chaos in airports and financial markets and even put workers out of work.
The cause: a faulty update on Microsoft’s Windows operating systems of an IT solution from the American cybersecurity group CrowdStrike, which rules out a cyberattack or an IT security problem.
“I want to personally apologize to every organization, every group and every individual that was impacted” by the outage, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told CNBC.
This bug, which is currently being fixed, did not affect users of Mac and Linux systems.
For its part, Microsoft reported a “problem” causing a blue screen. “We recommend that customers follow the advice provided by CrowdStrike to resolve this situation,” added the American computer giant.
“The scale of this outage is unprecedented and will undoubtedly go down in history,” said Junade Ali, a cybersecurity expert.
It “directly impacts end-user computers and could require manual intervention to resolve, representing a significant challenge for IT teams globally.”
Many Asian airports reported “normal” or “near-normal” activity as of Friday evening local time, including in South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
However, some “residual issues” causing delays persist in Sydney and “five flights” operated by low-cost airline Jetstar to Japan will be disrupted on Saturday.
“Huge” failure
The update bug was triggered on Thursday around 7pm GMT, according to a Microsoft post.
“This is one of the rare times that we find security software at the origin of such a huge failure,” said Kayssar Daher, another cybersecurity expert interviewed by AFP.
The scale of the phenomenon is explained by the fact that “Windows is extremely widespread and CrowdStrike too,” he adds.
After temporarily disrupting IT operations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including the accreditation system but not ticketing, activities “resumed normally” on Friday afternoon, according to organizers.
“The Paris 2024 IT system has not collapsed, so if there are a few malfunctions here and there, it’s a lesser evil,” a French sports movement executive told AFP.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the outage “caused cardiac arrest in the automotive supply chain.”
Many airports and airlines reported problems on Friday. Passengers are being patient, especially in the northern hemisphere where many holidaymakers are departing or returning.
“We’re struggling to find another flight or a train, the other option is to sleep at the airport,” explained Anja Müller, a 22-year-old student who lives in Germany and spent a week in France, at Roissy, Paris’ main airport, on Friday.
While the Paris airport manager ADP assured that the breakdown spared its computer systems, the group acknowledged disruptions at Roissy and Orly, which are the two main entry points for foreign delegations at the Olympic Games.
In the United States, emergency services in at least three states were affected and 2,400 flights were cancelled on Friday, a number that could rise further.
“According to our information, flights have resumed across the country but some congestion persists,” a government official told the press.
While several American companies (American Airlines, United, Delta, etc.) have resumed their activities, their Mexican counterparts still seemed to be affected by the outage.
“We have been waiting since 3am,” said Juan Pablo Olvera, stuck at Mexico City’s airport. “Because the system is down, the QR codes were not working,” he said, as long lines and flight delays were reported.
Airports in Guadalajara, in western Mexico, and Monterrey, in the north, asked passengers to arrive several hours early.