CrowdStrike: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Identifies Cause; CERT Issues Technical Advisory

CrowdStrike: MEITY contacts Microsoft to address the Windows 10 outage caused by CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor update, which led to widespread global disruptions. CrowdStrike acknowledges the issue, rolls back the update, and releases fixes.

microsoft outage: Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) is collaborating with Microsoft and its partners to address a widespread Windows 10 outage. The issue, traced to a recent update of CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor, has caused numerous PCs to halt at the recovery screen. This problem has disrupted operations at airports, companies, banks, and government offices worldwide.

CrowdStrike acknowledged the issue on their support page, identifying the Falcon sensor as the source of the problem. The company has rolled back the problematic update and released fixes to address the crashes. Despite this, some Windows hosts continue to experience the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) associated with the Falcon sensor.

CERT-In has issued an advisory (CIAD-2024-0035) detailing the issue. The advisory notes that affected Windows hosts are crashing due to the recent CrowdStrike update.

To resolve this CrowdStrike issue, users are advised to follow these steps:

1. Boot Windows in Safe Mode or Windows Recovery Environment.
2. Navigate to the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike directory.
3. Delete the file matching “C-00000291*.sys”.
4. Reboot the system normally.

Vaishnaw confirmed that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) network remains unaffected. Users are encouraged to check the CrowdStrike portal for the latest updates and further instructions.

This proactive response aims to mitigate the impact of the outage and restore normalcy for affected users.

As a consequence of the workflow disruption in India, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad issued an advisory regarding a global IT outage affecting some airlines, reported PTI. This led to the cancellation of 23 flights, including IndiGo’s routes to Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru. Passengers are advised to contact airlines for updates.

Notable companies affected included McDonald’s Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc., and the LSE Group, all of which faced significant customer service communication issues. These firms, along with many other corporations from Japan to India and the US, reported operational glitches.