CrowdStrike CEO says 97% of Windows sensors are back online

Global outage linked to CrowdStrike affected airlines, banks, hospitals and other businesses

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz announced that the company is still working to restore systems a week after causing a global computer outage that rippled through the global economy.

As of Thursday, more than 97% of Windows sensors were back online, Kurtz wrote in a LinkedIn post. 

"This progress is thanks to the tireless efforts of our customers, partners, and the dedication of our team at CrowdStrike," he said. "However, we understand our work is not yet complete, and we remain committed to restoring every impacted system."  

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OUTAGE DISRUPTS MAJOR AIRLINES, 911 SERVICES AND BUSINESSES

United Airlines employees wait by a departures monitor displaying a blue error screen after United Airlines and other airlines grounded flights due to a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to CrowdStrikes "Falcon Sensor" software which crashed Microsoft Windows systems, in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Bing Guan

United Airlines employees wait by a departures monitor displaying a blue error screen after United Airlines and other airlines grounded flights due to a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to CrowdStrikes "Falcon Sensor" software which crashed (Reuters/Bing Guan / Reuters)

The Austin, Texas-based cybersecurity tech company said last Friday's incident started after it released a content configuration update for the Windows sensor to detect new potential threats. 

However, there was a bug in its test software, which proceeded to shut down computers around the world, derailing airline operations and knocking banks, hospitals and other businesses offline. 

It took Delta Air Lines almost a week to get its operations in order because 60% of its "most critical applications that run the airline" are on Microsoft Windows.  

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 430.98 +7.52 +1.78%

Kurtz apologized to customers still affected, saying that the company won't rest until it achieves "full recovery."

"At CrowdStrike, our mission is to earn your trust by safeguarding your operations. I am deeply sorry for the disruption this outage has caused and personally apologize to everyone impacted," he wrote. "While I can’t promise perfection, I can promise a response that is focused, effective, and with a sense of urgency."

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Almost immediately after the outage, Kurtz said in a post on X that it was "not a security incident of cyberattack" and that a fix had already been deployed.