GLOBAL VANTAGE: THE CROWDSTRIKE OUTAGE – DATA HELD IN THE CLOUD CAUSES TROUBLE IN THE SKIES. THE CHALLENGES FACED BY DATA CENTRES

Data centres are the backbone of Big Tech, pivotal for business continuity, and offer enhanced performance and security for hosted data. The internet does not float in a cloud but sits securely in servers at data centres. On 19 July 2024, worldwide IT outages occurred. Crowdstrike – a cybersecurity company which produces antivirus software – was identified as the cause of the outages. Crowdstrike issued a software update that had unintended consequences and subsequently led to “bricking” Windows devices., i.e. a device that won’t function properly and is as useful as a brick. Those hosting a Windows instance (a database environment) at a data centre and who also use Crowdstrike software were all affected.

Software updates are usually rigorously tested in secure environments before they are released. The effects of this outage show why. Highly regulated environments like the London Stock Exchange Group and critical infrastructure were significantly affected:

• Flights – flights were grounded at Sydney airport. United Airlines stopped flying. Berlin airport experienced delays. Departure boards froze at Edinburgh airport. Amsterdam’s Schipol airport experienced delays. At Gatwick airport barcodes on boarding passes did not work so security checks were being completed manually. Delhi airport reverted to manual departure boards.
• Trains – Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern (all Govia brands) experienced disruption and issues.
  London Stock Exchange group’s platform experienced issues.
• Media – Sky News could not broadcast live. Australia’s Telstra Group, a telecommunications company, said it was also facing disruption. Alaska State Troopers reported 911 outages.
• Retail – Gails bakeries could not take in-store payments.
• Government – New Zealand’s parliament reported issues with their system. The NHS did not have access to its clinical systems. In some locations, patients were informed that medical records could not be accessed, and so certain appointments were cancelled.

Data centres will face significant downtime. Those affected are bound to look to recover their losses. Crowdstrike is unlikely to be responsible for business interruption. Therefore, some companies will turn to their insurers. The outage demonstrates the effect of wide reliance on one piece of software. However, it also shows that diverse infrastructure is needed. Reliance on one data centre could cause future software and hardware issues. Therefore, the increase in data centre construction is likely to become more and more important.