Microsoft’s disclosure released over the weekend revealed that a total of 8.5 million devices running its platform were affected by the problematic CrowdStrike update that disrupted the operations of companies globally.
The supposedly minor routine caused widespread system crashes and users experienced the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on Windows computer systems that received a faulty sensor configuration update from CrowdStrike for the Falcon sensor version 7.11 and later.
In the wake of the worldwide IT outage spanning across different sectors, the company decided to release a USB-based solution designed to deliver the repair to the Windows clients and servers impacted by the event.
A prerequisite for the usage of this tool is to have a Windows 64-bit client with at least 8GB of free storage space available and administrative privileges to create a bootable USB drive and execute the tool.
The company assured its customers that less than one percent of all Windows machines were affected by the outage, despite the wide-reaching effects caused by the outage which led to congested airports, extended queues in supermarkets, and medical facility shutdowns among others.
Microsoft acknowledged that while the percentage of affected devices was small, the economic and social ramifications were significant due to the reliance on CrowdStrike by many organizations managing essential services.
Now facing a continued pummeling on the NASDAQ stock exchange, CrowdStrike announced that “a significant number” among the affected Windows devices are now back online and operational, as the listed cybersecurity firm tests “a new technique to accelerate impacted system remediation.”
“I know this has had a massive impact on everyone. My gratitude to our customers, our partners, and the world’s cybersecurity and IT teams for working so tirelessly,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said in a statement.
CrowdStrike is now operationalizing an opt-in to this technique and has already uploaded a video outlining the steps on how to self-remediate impacted remote Windows laptops.
