Crowdstrike - the first to knee half of the world
Disclaimer: First and foremost, I should mention this isn't directly related to AI as far as I'm aware. However, it's absolutely vital for every AI system out there because Operating Systems are the foundation upon which everything else is built.
What happened?
This friday 19th of July 2024. Some chap at this company Crowdstrike released an update that crashed the windows systems of every customer they have.
Wait, who is Crowdstrike again?
This company rolls out antivirus software that gets up close and personal with your system's core—think Norton or Avast. It's built to keep malware at bay on Windows-run machines. Here's the kicker: they're big on catering to the heavyweight enterprises, so their software is pretty much everywhere. Picture this: they're on board with around half of the top 1000 companies in the US alone, plus they've got a massive following globally. No surprise, when they hit a snag, it's not just a local hiccup—it's a worldwide event. 🗺️
How are they crashing windows?
Basically, someone goofed up and coded something that's reaching for a chunk of computer memory that's just not there. So what happens? The program throws a fit, Windows can't handle the drama, and boom— you're stuck in a reboot loop that just won't quit. 💥
The fix is easy but not really scalable.
So here's the deal: the fix is pretty simple. You just gotta fire up Windows, dig into the CrowdStrike files, and zap one of them. But here's the twist—you need to boot up in safe mode, which means someone's gotta be there to do the dance manually. Now, imagine this fix times a million, or heck, even a billion computers. That's a lot of folks who have to roll up their sleeves. 😳
If Bitlocker's in the picture, throwing passwords around like confetti, well, that's a whole different ballgame, because every machine's got its own secret handshake.
Who was affected?
Airlines, Banks, Stock Exchanges, Hospitals, Transport Systems etc. 😢
Conclusion
Last Friday was a real eye-opener—you know how a deck of cards can tumble with just a bit of a breeze? Turns out, the world's infrastructure is pretty much the same. A tiny nudge here or there, and bam, everything comes crashing down.
Hollywood's all about those flashy doomsday scenarios—aliens, mega-storms, scorching heatwaves, or a new ice age. But the real plot twist? It's us. Yep, we humans could send the world into a tailspin faster than you can say 'Mach 1'.
We really live in the future, one wrong button pressed, one person empowered to do something he shouldn't and we're done. 💣
Now to raise the mood a bit, because this is a little too dark today here are some memes:
