Global IT outage impacting airlines, airports and banks worldwide, including Malaysia (VIDEO)
KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 – Chaos erupted after a global IT outage affected many institutions, including Malaysia, with banks going offline and flight bans in several countries.
Here is the latest update:
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The outage was caused by thousands of Windows computers experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).
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The problem was reportedly caused by Faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike. A fix has been provided.
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The National Cybersecurity Authority stated: “The impact on Malaysia is significant; it has caused delays and operational challenges across numerous sectors and has impacted businesses and the public.”
In Malaysia the following services are affected:
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There were some reports about Service disruption at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) This leads to long queues, especially in Terminal 2.
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Airports in Malaysia said it was still unaffected, but some of its airline partners had experienced disruptions.
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Malaysian Aviation Group canceled flight plans for Malaysia Airlines and Firefly remain unaffected and no flights have been cancelled.
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However, Firefly Airlines has reported a failure of its booking system.
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Railway operator KTM is currently also facing disruptions in the ticket and customer service system.
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AirAsia The company had previously reported that its reservation and check-in system was affected, but its flights were not.
A complete list can be found here.
Travel Advisory: Our network of airports in Malaysia is unaffected by the global Microsoft outage. However, some of our partner airlines are experiencing disruptions due to this issue. pic.twitter.com/BQRVX596Os
— Airports in Malaysia (@MY_Airports) July 19, 2024
Why was air travel so vulnerable and affected by this problem? According to Reuters:
“Air traffic is particularly hard hit because it is very time-sensitive. Airlines rely on a tightly coordinated schedule that is often monitored by air traffic control. Even a delay of a few minutes can disrupt an airport and airline’s takeoff and landing schedule for the rest of the day.”
Travelers were unable to check in online or at kiosks and had to wait in line. – Photo by Choo Choy May.
What is happening in KLIA right now? The chaos is real, as Malaysia Post Journalist Muhammad Yusry reported:
Passengers at Terminal 2 of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) must check in manually at the counter.
Here, queues formed in front of most counters, which are longer on normal days. According to airport staff, the situation began today around 2 p.m.
Some users have also posted their experiences on social media:
Terkini!!!Semua sistem check-in (online, kiosks) penerbangan #Airasia You don’t have to worry, but you need to know that you have to visit KLIA (T2) and you only have to buy a boarding pass but you don’t have to drop off any more bags. pic.twitter.com/pD8yYNXMnX
— Syahrul Azlan | Mutawwif Emas (@syahrulazlan91) July 19, 2024
What is Crowdstrike?
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CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company that provides protection, threat intelligence, and cyberattack response services.
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It is widely used by businesses to manage the security of Windows PCs and servers.
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The fraudulent update is said to have sent Windows servers, PCs, laptops and computer terminals into a “death spiral of reboots” – resulting in a BSOD with the message “DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER”.
A statement from the company said:
“CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon Sensor. Symptoms include hosts experiencing a Bugcheck blue screen error related to the Falcon Sensor.
Our engineering teams are actively working to resolve this issue and there is no need to open a support ticket. Status updates will be posted once we have more information to share, even if the issue is resolved.”
BSOD error in latest crowdstrike update
byu/TipOFMYTONGUEDAMN incrowdstrike
Long lines led to huge crowds and long wait times at check-in. – July 19, 2024. Image by Choo Choy May.
Déjà vu? KLIA had already experienced a similar outage in August 2019caused by a massive network outage that lasted nearly five days.
The airport functions affected included the credit card system, internet connection, flight check-in, baggage handling, flight information display systems and the MYairports mobile application.
The Department of Transport later said it had found no evidence of cyberattacks and that the attack was traced to a 21-year-old Core Network Switches system that had not been updated since it went into operation in 1998.
Read on to find out what’s happening:
