CNN
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Operations are gradually being restored but delays continue for a second day after “the largest IT outage in history” disrupted sectors across the globe, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports, emergency communication services down and blood donation centers without vital shipments.
Airlines, businesses, government agencies, health and emergency services, banks and schools and universities around the world ground to a halt or saw services disrupted due to a flawed software update for Microsoft Windows operating systems issued by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, experts told CNN.
CrowdStrike’s CEO said a fix has been deployed, but experts say getting systems back in order will be a lengthy process.
The outage affected an estimated 8.5 million Windows devices, less than 1 percent of all Windows machines, according to a Saturday blog post from Microsoft. “While the percentage was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services,” Microsoft said.
According to the tracking website FlightAware, more than 2,300 flights into, out of, or within the US have been canceled and more than 6,000 delayed, as of Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, more than 3,000 flights were canceled and more than 11,000 were delayed, according to FlightAware.com.
Worldwide, major airlines have said services are being restored.
A majority of United Airlines systems have recovered from Friday’s outage, the airline said in a statement.
“While most of our systems have recovered from the worldwide third-party software outage, we may continue to experience some disruption to our operation, including flight delays and cancellations,” United said.
Delta Air Lines is “continuing its operational recovery” after the outage prompted the airline to pause flying on Friday, according to a Saturday morning update. Still, over 600 Delta flights have been canceled Saturday.
“Additional cancelations are expected as some of Delta’s technology continues to recover from Friday morning’s vendor-caused issue,” the update said.
Jetstar Japan, Hong Kong Express and Cebu Pacific airlines said Saturday their operations are gradually being restored too.
Cybercriminals capitalized on the chaos by promoting fake websites filled with malicious software designed to compromise unsuspecting victims, according to warnings from the US government and multiple cybersecurity professionals.
Former McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt told CNN a group of private sector and government agencies worked overnight to “ascertain the threat” and find a solution to the global outage. The call included the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other private and government organizations.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized to customers Friday for the outage and said the company is working with those affected.
“We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption,” Kurtz posted on X. “We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are back up and they can deliver the services their customers are counting on.”
But it could be easier said than done: Manual restarts of individual systems take time and expertise some customers don’t have, which is why companies have been slow to recover from the outage.
Frustrated passengers lined up at airports backed up with flight cancellations and delays, some missing life events like funerals and birthdays. At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, long lines of passengers waited for assistance Saturday, with many flights still canceled or delayed.
“I was supposed to be in California for my mom’s wedding,” Richard Whitfield of Pasco County, FL told CNN’s Isabel Rosales Saturday. Whitfield and his partner, Jonathan…
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