Blue Screen of Death: Global outage that led to Windows 10 crash explained

An outage of CrowdStrike has caused a global disruption for users of Microsoft Windows computers, affecting businesses and individuals across Australia, Japan, India and other countries

Windows 10 users across the globe are facing a crash, causing their systems to suddenly shut down or restart. The crash is leading to PCs getting stuck on the recovery screen or the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error. This error occurs when a critical issue forces Windows to shut down or restart. In such cases, a message stating – “Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we’ll restart for you” - appears on the screen.

Besides affecting corporate offices, the crash has also affected banks, supermarkets, telecommunications and airports across the US, Australia, Japan, India and other countries. It has reportedly caused the grounding and cancellation of flights across the United States, and at Sydney (Australia) Airport. Customers have been told they can’t check in their bags.

 

Windows 10 crash: Microsoft reaction

In a statement, Microsoft has said that a recent CrowdStrike update is leading to the crash. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike, which is a US-based cybersecurity provider, has said, “CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon sensor. Status updates will be posted below [on the website] as we have more information to share, including when the issue is resolved.”

Notably, the CrowdStrike Falcon provides cybersecurity solutions such as endpoint protection, detection and response, threat intelligence, incident response, Windows security features, and security updates and patches as well.

Windows 10 crash: Is it a cyber attack?

The National Cyber Security Coordinator of Australia, Michelle McGuinness, has ruled out the possibility of a cyber-attack behind the crash. “I am aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting several companies and services across Australia this afternoon. Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies,” said the National Cyber Security Coordinator in a post on X.

I am aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting a number of companies and services across Australia this afternoon.

Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies.

— National Cyber Security Coordinator (@AUCyberSecCoord) July 19, 2024

Windows 10 crash: Ways to resolve bug

A user may utilise the Blue Screen Troubleshooter available in the Get Help app. Here is how to do it:

• Open Get Help app on Windows.
• Type ‘Troubleshoot BSOD error’ (Blue Screen of Death) in the search bar of the Get Help app.
• Follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the Get Help app.

If this doesn’t work, you may consider updating Windows with the latest patches through Windows Update.