By Hank Russell | Long Island Life and Politics
An outage of the Microsoft operating system that happened overnight brought transportation systems, financial institutions, and other businesses to a grinding halt. State officials said they are working on it.
According to various news reports, just before 1:00a.m. on July 19, a glitch in the Microsoft software system came from a technical issue from CrowdStrike, which provides cybersecurity solutions to Microsoft for its Windows devices.
CrowdStrike President/CEO George Kurtz published a statement on the company’s blog site, explaining that the malfunction was the result of “a defect found in the Falcon content update for Windows hosts.” Kurt emphasized that this will not affect systems running on Mac and Linux.
“I want to sincerely apologize directly to all of you for today’s outage. All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation,” Kurtz stated. “We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority.”
He also emphasized that this was not a cyberattack. “We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this,” he said. “I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you’re engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives. Our blog and technical support will continue to be the official channels for the latest updates.”
Colin Ahern, the state’s chief cyber officer, issued this statement this morning: “We are working with our agencies, local governments, and the third-party service provider to resolve any issues on impacted systems. Our priority is to ensure all 911 systems across New York are operational and able to address emergency response needs. The third party has identified a fix for the underlying issue and the New York State Office of Information Technology Services is actively working with other state agencies on a resolution. We do not yet have a timeline for full restoration.”
Governor Kathy Hochul (D) visited the New York State Office of Information Technology Services to receive an update and monitor the State’s response to a global computer system outage that continues to impact New York. She later held a press conference providing an update on the situation.
“The outage is having impacts here in New York for private sector businesses that rely on CrowdStrike, and for systems even within the New York State Government,” Hochul said. “There is no risk to personal, sensitive information that we are aware of; although, we are continuing to monitor the environment very closely. Nonetheless, this has caused huge disruptions across the State of New York, around the country, and indeed the globe.”
Hochul said that 911 emergency services are up and running, but nonessential services are not. She also said she has received reports that the Department of Motor Vehicles has experienced “major disruptions” throughout the state. The Port Authority has not been impacted, but those who are flying are experiencing flight delays and cancelations. She urged fliers to call their airline and check for flight information.
Janno Lieber, the chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) also held a press conference. He said that bus, rail, subway and paratransit service has not been interrupted. However, the countdown clock — which tells commuters how long before the next train arrives — is not functioning.
“As old New Yorkers know, the trains are coming,” Lieber said.
“They’re coming on regular schedules, and you can count on it. You just may not have the countdown clock available. Otherwise, the tolls are being collected. Bad news for some people, I know.” He also said the clocks should be back online “pretty promptly.”
Hochul, meanwhile, promised to fix this, no matter how long it takes.
“We’ll continue working around the clock to restore services as soon as possible, and we’ll continue to keep New Yorkers updated on our progress.”
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