Image source: topwar.ru
Today, reports of serious problems in the operation of at least one of the software products of the American multinational IT company Microsoft Corporation are coming from several countries of the world, and mainly Western ones. According to some reports, problems have arisen among users of the most popular operating system OS Windows 10, although there is information that it has affected other versions of the OS from Microsoft. The problem lies in the fact that when you turn on the computer, the operating system does not load, and the so-called "blue square of death" appears on the screen, when you reboot the power supply, the problem does not resolve.
Given the popularity of Microsoft software, whose products are used not only by individuals, but also by companies and government agencies, the OS failure led to serious problems. In particular, it is reported that some major airports, aviation and railway carriers, telecom operators, mass media, banks and even stock exchanges have completely or partially stopped working. The problem is typical for users of the licensed version of Windows who have not disabled the automatic update feature. There are no threats for macOS computers from Apple and users of free software.
A Windows glitch has led to massive flight cancellations in the United States, Great Britain, Turkey, India, Spain and some other European countries. The cancellation was confirmed by American Airlines, United Airlines, Ryanair, Air India, Eurowings, Air Asia, VietJet Air. The London Stock Exchange and other European trading platforms opened with a sharp decline in their indices this morning.
It soon became known that the cause of global problems in the operation of Microsoft operating systems was most likely a failure to update the firmware of the CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor, developed by CrowdStrike. The sensor is designed to block cyber attacks, has the function of recording and recording activity to eliminate threats more quickly. This is a kind of antivirus that is used in Windows OS.
Microsoft said it is aware of the problem and is working to solve it. In turn, CrowdStrike recognized the bug and promptly revoked the update, releasing a fix, but it took a reboot to restore normal operation of the systems. CrowdStrike shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange fell by 12% before the opening of the main trading session.
Claims have already been made to the software developer company that the update was released without proper pre-testing. Most likely, there will be lawsuits for damages, and they are considerable. Experts point out that there have never been such large-scale failures in IT services around the world before.
At the same time, Russia was not affected by this problem, judging by reports in the press and from large domestic companies. And here again, we should say a kind of "thank you" to Western sanctions. For two years now, measures have been actively implemented at the government level in the Russian Federation to import both IT equipment and software in all sectors, primarily state-owned companies, institutions and enterprises that are critically important for the country's security.
Thus, the Federal Air Transport Agency reported on the regular operation of airlines and airports, Rosatom stated that there were no failures at nuclear power plants due to the operation of import-substituted equipment. In addition, in March, Microsoft announced the blocking of access to its cloud services in Russia. The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation claims that there have been no reports of system failures at airports and other strategic facilities. So far, there are no complaints about the work of Windows from ordinary Russian users.
By the way, in China it has long been forbidden for officials and state-owned enterprises to use Microsoft products. Since this year, the Chinese government has completely switched to domestic hardware and software at all levels of government. Municipalities, ministries and other government agencies are prohibited from using Windows computers or chips from Intel and AMD. Instead of Windows, the Chinese government promotes Linux distributions created domestically.
CrowdStrike has officially stated that the failure is not the result of a cyberattack or the impact of malware from the outside. So even with all the desire to find a "Russian or Chinese trace", as they have been doing in the West lately, it will not work in this situation.
