KUALA LUMPUR – Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike’s chief executive, George Kurtz, appeared visibly uneasy and had difficulty explaining how one software update could have caused a worldwide disruption in computer services.
During an appearance on NBC’s Today show in the US, he appeared nervous when probed about the disruption.
“According to your statement, it was a single content update that has managed to shut down air travel, credit card payment systems, banks, broadcast, street lights, 911, and emergencies around the globe.
“Why is there not some kind of redundancy or some sort of backup? How is it that one single software bug can have such a profound and immediate impact?” the interviewer asked Kurtz.
Kurtz struggled to respond, needing a moment and a sip of water to compose himself. This awkward moment was captured on a video, which has since gone viral, garnering millions of views on social media platform X.
Kurtz said CrowdStrike is aiding its customers in restoring their computer systems following a bug in the company’s Windows update.
He mentioned that some customers took only a few hours to recover, with some systems already back to normal.
“If their systems don’t fully recover, we are working with them on the specific fix for them.
“We’re working with them on the specific fix for them. We are providing guidance through tech support and blogs,” Kurtz said in another interview on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street.
In a LinkedIn post, Kurtz also dispelled rumours of a cyberattack, clarifying that the disruption was due to a bug in their Windows host update.
The global IT outage yesterday and today affected airport operations, banks, and media broadcasts, among other key sectors.
In Malaysia, the outage was notably evident at klia2, where airlines resorted to manual check-ins, resulting in long queues.
National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) chief executive Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin reassured the public that the issue was linked to CrowdStrike’s update, causing Microsoft systems to continuously restart.
Similarly, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said his ministry was closely monitoring the situation. – July 20, 2024