It took a few hours but Crowdstrike confirmed a global IT outage was the result of their software update which caused 8.5 million Windows devices to crash.
Retail outlets, financial institutions, hospitals and other businesses realised a major IT glitch was sweeping the world when they woke up on Monday and opened their computers.
The first figure stating the number of users affected by this incident suggests it could be one of the most widely disruptive cyber events in history.
After the outage, cybersecurity experts have condemned the opportunistic cyber attacks hackers are instigating to take advantage of compromised devices and to access data. Although the IT outage has not been linked to cyber criminality, the incident has spawned more incidents of breaches and attacks, triggering authorities in the UK and Australia to warn people about falling victims to fake emails, calls and websites.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre reported an increase in phishing scams, with hackers responding to news-worthy events, especially involving technology, to adjust their sophisticated techniques and tap into the fear and uncertainty around the situation.
