Detroit Evening Report: Software glitch causes chaos in Detroit and beyond
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A passenger looks at a departures monitor at the Des Moines International Airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.
People in Michigan and around the world faced online disarray on Friday as a widespread technology outage affected companies and services across multiple industries.
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At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of companies worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.
The outage grounded flights — including at Detroit Metro Airport — knocked banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air. Police officials also reported that the outage is affecting traffic at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge.
CrowdStrike has said a fix is on the way. Still, chaos deepened hours after the problem was first detected.
Experts stress that Friday’s disruptions underscore the vulnerability of worldwide dependence on software that comes from only a handful of providers.
“It is an ‘all our eggs are in one basket’ situation,” Craig Shue, professor and computer science department head at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, told the Associated Press. “This lets us make sure our ‘basket’ is high quality: the software provider tries to identify threats and respond to them quickly. But at the same time, if anything goes wrong and the basket fails, we have a lot of broken eggs.”
Many of the problems created by the glitch were remedied as the day went on and as fixes were applied. The Detroit Free Press reports that by 11 a.m., metro Detroit alone showed 59 flight delays, and 26 cancellations.
Reporting by WDET and The Associated Press.
Other headlines for Friday, July 19, 2024:
- About 300 people gathered in front of the Hamtramck City Hall on Thursday to protest the deaths of at least two dozen students in Bangladesh this week.
- After two tragic accidents where children were fatally hit by cars, residents are demanding more traffic safety measures in Hamtramck.
- The 2024 Riverfront Music Festival kicks off on Saturday with a star studded lineup, including performances by Queen Naija, Yung Miami, Monica, K Michelle, Keke Wyatt and more.
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