A large-scale technology outage caused by a software update error by CrowdStrike impacted airlines, banks, hospitals, schools, businesses, and emergency services in Las Vegas. The incident affected customers running Windows, making it widespread. Chief Technology Officer Shannon Wilkinson of Tego Cyber suggested having a contingency plan in case of IT system loss to minimize service disruptions. Organizations that did not automatically update their systems were protected from the error, although this could leave them vulnerable to cyber criminal exploitation of security vulnerabilities. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized for the outages and clarified that it was not a security incident or cyber-attack. The incident serves as a reminder for organizations to balance the need for immediate protection with the potential risks of automatic updates. It is essential for businesses to assess their cybersecurity measures and have a plan in place to deal with unforeseen technological disruptions. The outage caused by a software error highlights the importance of proactive cybersecurity measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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