July 20th, 2024

CrowdStrike fail and next global IT meltdown

A global IT outage caused by a CrowdStrike software bug prompts concerns over centralized security. Recovery may take days, highlighting the importance of incremental updates and cybersecurity investments to prevent future incidents.

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CrowdStrike fail and next global IT meltdown

In the aftermath of a global IT outage caused by a CrowdStrike software bug, experts highlight the issue of excessive centralization of security in current systems. The incident, triggered by a botched software update, led to widespread disruptions affecting various sectors worldwide. CrowdStrike's automatic update feature, which rolled out buggy code, resulted in catastrophic consequences due to its broad customer base. Despite quick identification of the problem, the recovery process is expected to take three to five days for organizations with complex systems. Lessons learned include the importance of incremental software updates and the need for more safeguards to prevent similar incidents. The event underscores the fragility of modern society's reliance on IT systems and the necessity for businesses to invest in cybersecurity as a fundamental aspect of their operations. Experts emphasize the significance of building redundancy into IT systems to mitigate the impact of single-point failures and advocate for a shift in mindset towards cybersecurity as an essential investment rather than a mere cost. The incident also sheds light on the systemic issues within enterprise IT, emphasizing the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures and proactive risk management strategies.

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By @ijidak - 3 months
How is this even a suggestion for a company at this scale?

From the article, "Software updates should be rolled out incrementally

One lesson from the global IT outage, O'Neill said, is that CrowdStrike's update should have been rolled out incrementally."

This is why I find the coding interviews of many companies to be misguided.

I bet Crowdstrike's hiring process focuses on Leet Code problems and ignores practical considerations like, real world engineering considerations that matter when building an agent.

Leet code bakes premature optimization into the hiring process, and ignores the far more common business reasons that software fails.

A robust system for incremental roll-out and verification should be 101 for software with this level of success and market penetration.