During this past Friday morning, numerous Microsoft Windows servers and the services they were running experienced an outage. While you and I may not have been directly impacted, this disruption affected thousands of businesses and corporations, including the airline and rail industry, halting transportation services and causing significant financial losses.
Incidents like these, resulting from technical mishaps that are messy and expensive, intrigue me and are always worth further exploration. Let’s take a closer look at this specific incident, without sounding like a Monday morning quarterback.
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While Microsoft bears responsibility for the overall incident, the outage was not directly caused by them. A third-party Windows component from CrowdStrike, a Windows security vendor, issued an update that caused the affected computers to crash and display the infamous Windows blue screen. Microsoft’s error lies in allowing such occurrences within its system, highlighting a crucial aspect of the incident.
This should be the main takeaway, as future incidents could impact you more significantly. CrowdStrike may have triggered this outage, but ultimately, Microsoft is accountable.
How does CrowdStrike factor into all of this?
CrowdStrike offers security solutions claiming to secure crucial risk areas such as endpoints, cloud workloads, identity, and data. While I am not a Windows security expert, it seems like a sales pitch to me.
While their services may be essential, the decision to utilize CrowdStrike is likely financially driven as much as it is for technical reasons. Sales pitches are effective when the service is legitimate, making it easier to sell.
There are two major concerns here. Firstly, if CrowdStrike provides critical services, why isn’t it integrated into Windows Server, considering Microsoft’s stature in the software industry? The high cost of Windows Server licenses may warrant such integration.
Secondly, allowing optional software to have such low-level OS access, resulting in machine crashes, raises alarm bells about Microsoft’s oversight. Microsoft should prevent external software from taking control of its operating system in such a manner.
Hence, while Microsoft may not have directly caused this outage, it is ultimately accountable due to their system’s vulnerabilities. Holding top-tier companies to higher standards is vital.
These concerns are not unfounded but instead present an opportunity for Microsoft to improve and prevent more severe incidents. Despite criticisms, Microsoft remains among the top companies globally in computing, whether in edge or cloud systems. Recognizing this, even if you aren’t a fan of their products, is crucial. Critical infrastructure relies on Microsoft’s proficiency in this realm.
What about next time?
However, looking beyond this specific incident, we were fortunate this time. Yet, imagine the implications if the national power grid failed during the next outage. While preventive measures exist, the possibility of a catastrophic outcome always lurks.
Moreover, envision the impact of a global outage on mobile devices, transcending inconveniences like email and messaging disruptions. The financial losses and repercussions on companies would be profound, underscoring the need for strategic lessons from such incidents.
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