Infamous BSOD appears across Windows machines globally as suspected security bug grounds planes, hits health services

A bug is affecting a large number of systems running Windows and the security software from CrowdStrike. Airlines, train companies, health and emergency services are among those facing an issue causing repeated restarts and the blue screen of death (BSOD).

Microsoft says of the issue: «We have been made aware of an issue impacting Virtual Machines running Windows, running the CrowdStrike Falcon agent, which may encounter a bug check (BSOD) and get stuck in a restarting state. We are aware of this issue and are currently investigating potential options Azure customers can take for mitigation.»

The issue appears to be caused by CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor agent, a part of its security platform. An apparent advisory from the security company has been posted across Reddit and X that appears to acknowledge the issue and recommend a potential fix. Crowdstrike has not publicly published the advice, however.

The Falcon Sensor is commonly used to protect Windows machines and that's evident by the number of companies, organisations and services reporting outages today.

UK news broadcaster Sky News was offline for the morning. It has since managed to restart its service. Though some companies will take longer to get up-and-running again, such as KLM, the major airline out of the Netherlands, which has had to suspend operations. Other airlines have reported disruptions, including Ryanair.

KLM and other airlines and airports have been affected by a global computer outage, making flight handling impossible. We realise that this is very inconvenient for our customers and staff, particularly in the midst of the summer holiday season. We’re working hard to resolve the… pic.twitter.com/O4gm7u0DIWJuly 19, 2024

Various football clubs, airports, and banks have reported outages. London Gatwick has confirmed it is impacted by the outage but still recommends passengers arrive at a regular time for their flights. Berlin and Schiphol airport are both affected, though many are reporting they