Why Home Computers Were Not Affected By Global Microsoft Outage

Microsoft, the US-based tech giant, estimated that 8.5 million computers worldwide were affected due to the outage. The tech glitch happened on July 19 after Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity software company, rolled out its routine update. 

From airlines to news channels, the glitch led to the crashing of IT systems, disrupting the daily proceedings. 

In a blog post, Microsoft stated, "We currently estimate that CrowdStrike's update affected 8.5 million Windows devices. Deploying hundreds of Microsoft engineers and experts to work directly with customers to restore services.”

Why the home PCs weren't affected?

CrowdStrike's products are predominantly used by major organisations needing robust cyber attack protection and are rarely found on home PCs. 

Speaking to KSHB Kansas City.com, IT manager Nicole Burres said, “As far as I know, it's not something that you would need to be concerned about at home.” 

Ms Burres, who works with Loquient Technology Services, added, “Now, it could impact your banking, it could impact some emergency services depending on your location.”

Taking about how CrowdStrike works and who are its clients, Ms Burres added, “CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company that deploys cloud solutions to companies. They have about 1,000-user minimum licencing requirements, so your end user at home wouldn't be using it.”

CrowdStrike's first statement after the glitch

Addressing the glitch, Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz said, "CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”