Blue screen of death. Source: Shutterstock

Update Me: A Code Bug Costing $24 Billion

On the most recent Friday, a worldwide IT system update took place. CrowdStrike rolled out a series of software solutions aimed at safeguarding computers against cyber threats. Unfortunately, a mistake within their own systems led to the crash of 8.5 million Windows computers. This incident now stands as the biggest IT breakdown in history.

The problem has truly become of a planetary scale, as airlines, airports, banks, hotels, hospitals, manufacturing, retail chains, stock markets, and broadcasting are all under attack. In the gambling industry, platforms Entain, Ladbrokes Coral, BetMGM, TAB and Flutter's Sportsbet were forced to go offline.

On Friday, CrowdStrike officially stated that the issue was not a result of a cyberattack, but rather a flaw discovered in a Windows host content update. A patch was eventually released by the company, although it required manual installation, resulting in a slower system recovery process. As of the publication of this news, the issue still persists. Experts believe that the total damage caused by the disruption is estimated to be around $24 billion, along with billions of pounds.

22 July 2024, 08:52

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