Microsoft partially blames EU for recent Windows 11's CrowdStrike outage
The outage affected 8.5 million Windows PCs worldwide
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Key notes
- On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike’s update caused a major Windows outage affecting 8.5 million PCs.
- Microsoft partially blames an EU 2009 agreement for limiting its control over third-party access.
- Since then, CrowdStrike has fixed many affected systems, and Microsoft also released a recovery tool.
On Friday, July 19, 2024, millions of Windows devices faced the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) after an update on CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor caused the fault. The outage, which has affected roughly 8.5 million Windows PCs around the world, has then been described as the worst IT outage in recent history.
But now, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft seems to partially blame the EU for the CrowdStrike outage.
Microsoft’s (unnamed) spokesman mentions that the company cannot restrict third-party access to its operating system in the same way Apple does because of a 2009 agreement with the European Commission.
This agreement requires Microsoft to give third-party security software makers the same level of access to Windows that Microsoft itself has, which limits Microsoft’s ability to control or restrict how its operating system interacts with external security software.
This constraint is relevant to the CrowdStrike incident because it explains why Microsoft’s Windows operating system allows deep integration of third-party security software like CrowdStrike’s Falcon.
CrowdStrike’s update caused the outage because Falcon operates at a critical system level, which, due to the EU’s requirements, Windows must accommodate. The regulation forces Microsoft to provide the same level of access to all security software developers, unlike Apple’s closed ecosystem, which means that when CrowdStrike’s software failed, it had a widespread impact on Windows systems.
But now, CrowdStrike stated that it’s addressed the issue, saying that “a significant number” out of these millions of Windows PCs are back up online. Microsoft has also launched a recovery tool for systems impacted by the outage using a bootable USB to fix the issue automatically.
“Together with customers, we tested a new technique to accelerate impacted system remediation. We’re in the process of operationalizing an opt-in to this technique. We’re making progress by the minute,” CrowdStrike says.
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