The Guardian says outage linked to Windows workstations has caused widespread disruption, hitting banks, airlines, rail services, supermarkets and other institutions
Business and institutions around the world have been knocked offline after an IT outage. Around the world banks, supermarkets and other major institutions reported computer issues disrupting services, with some airlines warning of delays and some airports grounding flights. Here is what we know so far:
Companies including banks, telecommunications companies, TV and radio broadcasters and supermarkets around the globe all reported IT issues. Airlines were also affected, with flights on US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines being grounded. Airports in Germany and Spain were also reporting issues.
Issues have been reported from across the globe, including in India, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
The cause of the outage is still being investigated but it appears to be affecting Windows PCs globally.
CBC says that according to an alert sent by global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike to its clients and reviewed by Reuters, the company's Falcon Sensor software is causing Microsoft Windows to crash and display a blue screen, known informally as the "blue screen of death."
The company told NBC News that the outage is related to an issue in the most recent update, which is now being rolled back. The problem crashed Windows machines and servers, sending them into a loop of recovery so that they couldn't restart.
Major disruptions have been reported by airlines and airports. Airline traffic was especially affected, though the impacts were variable.
