A recent software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, deployed to Microsoft Windows computers and servers, has caused widespread disruption. This issue has impacted airlines, banks, hospitals, and various businesses globally. While CrowdStrike has fixed the bug, many affected Windows devices require manual remediation due to the “Blue Screen of Death” preventing them from booting.
How Did This Happen?
A lot of questions are being raised in the market now:
- Did they deploy the update without thorough testing?
- Was this a case of AI deploying updates automatically without human oversight?
- Did CrowdStrike cut corners for the sake of speed?
The root cause may be a combination of these factors.
According to number of Cyber experts, the file crashing the system is full of null values, identified as a bad driver in the kernel. The urgency to release updates quickly may have led to insufficient quality assurance. Additionally, reliance on AI for deployment might have overlooked critical issues that human oversight could have caught.
What Could Have Been Done to Avoid This?
- Robust Testing Methodology
- Enhanced communication
- Gradual rollout
Call to Action
CrowdStrike’s incident underscores the vital importance of controlled environment testing. Testing patches in a controlled setting allows IT teams to identify and address potential issues, preventing widespread disruptions and ensuring smooth, secure rollouts. If patches are delivered automatically, a lack of thorough testing might have serious repercussions, as suspected in this case.
Steps for Recovery
Recovering from this situation is challenging. To resolve the issue, users must boot their systems into safe mode and remove the faulty driver. This process is complicated in large environments, and if BitLocker is enabled, the recovery key is needed.
Author: Gurpreet Shergill, Manager – Technology Advisory
