Jul 21, 2024

I just heard some concerning news about a faulty CrowdStrike update that has caused widespread Windows outages. Apparently, a defective software update from CrowdStrike contained an improperly formatted file that caused Windows systems to crash. This has caused major disruptions around the world, impacting airlines, banks, hospitals, government entities, and countless businesses. The outage disrupted American Airlines, United, Delta, and Allegiant Air, grounding all flights, and more than 5,000 flights had been canceled globally. The incident also disrupted most GP practices in England, and impacted 911 call centers in Oregon, Alaska, and Arizona. This is being called the largest IT outage in history and requires immediate attention.

In addition to the Windows outages, there are other cybersecurity threats that are causing concern. The Change Healthcare attack could cost nearly $2.5 billion, and hospitals in the UK are still struggling to replenish blood stocks following a ransomware attack. AT&T reportedly paid a hacker $373,000 to delete stolen customer records, and Russian threat actor groups are targeting the 2024 Paris Olympics with cyberattacks. The news also mentioned a new backdoor deployed by MuddyWater against Israeli organizations, and a remote access Trojan called “Poco RAT” targeting Spanish-speaking users in Latin America.

On top of all this, Kaspersky Lab is shuttering its US operations due to national security concerns, and there is a maximum-severity vulnerability affecting Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem devices. Two Russian nationals have pleaded guilty in the US to their participation in LockBit ransomware attacks, and a Manhattan district judge has thrown out most of the charges filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against SolarWinds and its CISO Timothy Brown over the Russian state-sponsored hack the company sustained in 2019 and 2020. These are all major issues that need to be addressed in the cybersecurity landscape.

Stay Well!