CrowdStrike shares plummet as reports suggest a software update led to global IT outage By Investing.com

A mass global outage has disrupted various businesses, including banks, airlines, train companies, telecommunications firms, broadcasters, and supermarkets, BBC reported Friday.

Major U.S. airlines such as American Airlines (NASDAQ:), Delta Airlines (NYSE:), and United Airlines (UAL). have been grounded, while airports in Germany, Amsterdam, and Spain are also experiencing issues.

The cause of the courage still remains unclear, but many of those impacted believe it could be linked to Microsoft’s (MSFT) operating systems. Microsoft (NASDAQ:) is currently addressing the “lingering impact” of its 365 applications and services, which are in a “degraded state.”

Some reports suggest that a software update from cybersecurity company Crowdstrike (CRWD), known for its antivirus software, has gone wrong, causing Windows devices to crash and display the “blue screen of death.”

“Now, whether these two issues are the same thing, or whether it’s a perfect storm of two big things happening simultaneously – I don’t yet know,” said Zoe Kleinman, BBC’s technology editor.

“It certainly sounds like it’s going to be causing a lot of havoc.”

Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy added, “Everything points to this being a Crowdstrike issue. If it was a Windows issue it would be even more widespread… The irony here, of course, is that Crowdstrike is a cyber-security product, so designed to protect computer networks from outages.”

CRWD shares plunged 13% in premarket trading Friday.

The outage has affected several locations in Europe as well.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, warned customers of potential disruptions affecting “all airlines operating across the network,” though it did not specify the nature of these disruptions.

At Edinburgh Airport, passengers were unable to use automated boarding pass scanners, and monitors at security displayed a “server offline” message. The airport reverted to manual boarding pass checks, according to a Reuters witness.