Businesses across the globe are being affected by a major IT outage that's causing Windows machines to encounter the dreaded 'blue screen of death' (BSOD), with knock-on effects hitting airlines, banks, and online services, and even taking TV channels off the air.
The outage has apparently been caused by a faulty security update rolled out by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Businesses in Australia and Asia were the first to encounter problems as computers running Windows went offline, with major issues subsequently being reported across Europe and the US.
Microsoft issued a statement saying: "We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming." CrowdStrike posted on its customer support website that "We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions." It also said the outage was not the result of a cyberattack.
