Microsoft says approximately 8.5 million of its devices were affected by an outage related to CrowdStrike

A global technology outage, related to a software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, affected nearly 8.5 million Microsoft devices, Microsoft said in a blog post Saturday.

"We currently estimate that the CrowdStrike update affected 8.5 million Windows devices, or less than one percent of all Windows machines," Microsoft said in the blog post.

A software update by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, one of the industry's largest operators, caused systems problems that grounded planes, forced broadcasters off the air and left customers without access to services such as healthcare or banking.

CrowdStrike has helped develop a solution that will enable Microsoft's Azure infrastructure to accelerate the deployment of a remediation. Microsoft said it is also working in collaboration with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, sharing information on the effects observed in the industry.

"Although the percentage was small, the broad economic and social impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by companies that run many critical services," Microsoft mentioned in its blog post.

The impact of this disruption on the technology industry highlights the dependence of enterprises on robust cybersecurity solutions. Collaboration between tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google underscores the importance of a coordinated response to mitigate disruptions and maintain operational continuity.

The airline industry was recovering Saturday from the disruption that caused thousands of flights to be canceled, leaving passengers stranded or facing hours of delays as airports and airlines grappled with the computer outage. Delta Air Lines, one of the hardest-hit airlines, reported that as of 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) Saturday, more than 600 flights had been canceled, with additional cancellations expected.

The magnitude of this disruption highlights the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the need for resilience in cybersecurity systems. Enterprises should consider implementing disaster recovery strategies and contingency plans to mitigate the impact of such events in the future. Furthermore, this situation highlights the importance of continued investment in cybersecurity technologies and collaboration between different industry players to ensure the security and stability of the global digital ecosystem.

Collaboration: Grupo Auge | Reuters (International).