How long could the consequences of the bug caused by CrowdStrike last?

The cause of the computer outage that affected companies around the world has been identified. However, applying the patch to all affected systems could take several days, due to the human and technical resources required.

After the earthquake, the damage assessment. The computer bug that caused thousands of computer systems around the world to crash on Friday, July 19, due to a faulty program published by the cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike, is being repaired. Most of the affected airports say they will soon be back to normal, and the company has issued a statement describing the technical cause of the bug and the steps to follow to restore the systems that are still down.

But even with this information, some consequences could be felt for several days, even weeks. “It may take some time to resolve the problem”CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz agreed on US channel CNBC. Among the reasons are the human resources needed to connect all the machines to the network – especially for smaller companies, for which a full return to normal could take several days.

On some machines that crashed due to Crowdstrike’s faulty program, fixing the bug must, in fact, be done manually, by physically accessing the affected device. “It’s a fairly complicated operation, which is not necessarily easy to apply on a large scale quickly.”Baptiste Robert, cybersecurity researcher and founder of the company Predicta Lab, tells franceinfo. “So this can take some time, especially if there are not many people with the necessary administrative privileges [pour effectuer les manipulations nécessaires] is limited within the company.”

These factors could be more relevant to SMEs, which have smaller IT assets than multinationals, but also smaller teams. “Managing the situation is easier when you have an organized team trained in crisis management, clear procedures…”lists Baptiste Robert. “There are few SMEs in this situation, so those that are affected will have to learn as they go, as is often the case.”

“Identifying all the affected machines down to the last one can take a very long time”also details a cybersecurity expert interviewed by franceinfo, since the affected machines break down before even connecting to the network. This issue also concerns more “small structures, whose configurations do not necessarily allow them to have a very precise overall view of their IT system”notes the same expert – “but if some machines are left broken down for days on end, it is because they are not essential.”

Although large companies have more resources, they are not immediately out of the woods. “Implementing IT continuity and recovery plans cannot be done in a few minutes; it requires thought.”explains to the Figaro Johan Klein, systems and cloud administrator at Meritis, “because it is also necessary to check that no data is damaged or lost in their various services [affectés].”

Despite the impact on some specific companies, Friday’s computer outage is unlikely to have a long-term, large-scale effect. Jennifer McKeown, an analyst at Capital Economics, told AFP that “not [attendre] major impact on the macroeconomy or financial markets at this stage”.

One company, however, may suffer for a while from this mistake: CrowdStrike itself. “This is by far the worst technical blunder ever seen by a software publisher”cybersecurity expert Richard Stiennon told AP. CrowdStrike’s stock price had already fallen 11 percent on Friday, and the mistake could prompt consumers to turn away from its products or even expose it to legal action, Robert said.

Faced with such an error from a cybersecurity giant, some companies could also decide to simplify their IT protection processes, at the risk of exposing themselves to more cyberattacks. “Business leaders might say, ‘This software is costing us a lot of money and has gotten us into trouble, so we might as well do without it.'”fears Baptiste Robert. “The cybersecurity world has been struggling for years to get this type of cybersecurity software approved by corporate executive committees.”he continues. “Of course, it doesn’t bring anything in itself, but we have to protect ourselves from attacks that could cost even more.”