IT outage

Winsage
February 21, 2025
Microsoft has a market capitalization exceeding a trillion dollars and is a key player in the tech industry. Last year, a significant IT outage caused by a faulty kernel driver from CrowdStrike affected approximately 8.5 million Windows devices, resulting in the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, shared insights in his memoir, "Source Code: My Beginnings," about his early passion for coding, which began at age 13. He would sneak out at night to access computers, crediting a local company, Computer Center, for helping him refine his skills. Gates left Harvard after three semesters to pursue Microsoft, a decision prompted by a visit from Paul Allen, who brought news of the Altair 8800 minicomputer kit. Gates reflected that had he stayed at Harvard, he might have missed the opportunity to co-found Microsoft.
Tech Optimizer
September 19, 2024
Microsoft is considering changes to the interaction of security products with the Windows software kernel, prompted by a significant IT outage affecting CrowdStrike customers. If Microsoft restricts access to load kernel drivers, security vendors will need to redesign their products to operate with lower privileges. The impact of these changes on Microsoft's own Defender, which currently operates at the kernel level, remains uncertain.
Winsage
August 28, 2024
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) will release its fiscal Q2 2025 financial results on August 28, with analysts projecting earnings of [openai_gpt model="gpt-4o-mini" prompt="Summarize the content and extract only the fact described in the text bellow. The summary shall NOT include a title, introduction and conclusion. Text: Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) is preparing to unveil its fiscal Q2 2025 financial results on August 28. The company has experienced a notable boost from the ongoing trends in artificial intelligence, with analysts projecting earnings of [cyberseo_openai model="gpt-4o-mini" prompt="Rewrite a news story for a business publication, in a calm style with creativity and flair based on text below, making sure it reads like human-written text in a natural way. The article shall NOT include a title, introduction and conclusion. The article shall NOT start from a title. Response language English. Generate HTML-formatted content using tag for a sub-heading. You can use only , , , , and HTML tags if necessary. Text: Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) is set to release its fiscal Q2 2025 financials on August 28. The company has significantly benefited from AI trends, with analysts predicting earnings of $0.97 per share and revenues of $958.3 million. These figures represent year-over-year increases of 31% and 30%, respectively, according to TipRanks. As we approach Q2, it’s crucial to note that CrowdStrike stock has faced significant declines recently. A global IT outage in July, triggered by a faulty update from CrowdStrike, led to a drop in its share price. This incident had widespread repercussions, impacting banks, airlines, and emergency services worldwide. In the past three months, the stock has fallen by 23.3%. While analysts forecast growth in both revenue and earnings for Q2, the financial and reputational fallout from the outage remains unclear. This uncertainty raises concerns about its potential impact on CRWD’s upcoming results. Analysts’ Mixed Sentiment on CrowdStrike Amidst Recent Outage According to TipRanks’ Bulls Say, Bears Say tool, bears contend that CrowdStrike’s recent outage revealed Quality Assurance issues, potentially causing customers to delay purchases. They also believe the outage stalled many deals, creating a moderate headwind to Q2 FY25 ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue). Additionally, they expect management to reduce Q3 ARR projections to about $200 million. Nevertheless, bulls view the current stock pressure as a compelling buying opportunity. They highlighted that in a Zero-Trust environment, the importance of endpoint security is growing, and CrowdStrike is well-positioned to be a key player in the cyber platform market. What Do Options Traders Anticipate? Using TipRanks’ Options tool, we can see what options traders are expecting from the stock immediately after its earnings report. The expected earnings move is determined by calculating the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the earnings announcement. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, the Options tool does this for you. Indeed, it currently says that options traders are expecting a 9.93% move in either direction. Is CrowdStrike a Buy or Sell? Ahead of Q2, most Wall Street analysts have maintained their Buy ratings on the stock over the past week, with the exception of Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick, who is among the top 1% of Wall Street experts and has maintained a Hold rating on CRWD. Based on analysts’ consensus ratings, CrowdStrike stock is a buy ahead of Q2 earnings. It sports a Strong Buy consensus rating, reflecting 30 Buy, six Hold, and one Sell recommendations. At an average price target of $339.65, the average CRWD stock price target implies 27.75% upside potential. See more CRWD analyst ratings Disclosure  " temperature="0.3" top_p="1.0" best_of="1" presence_penalty="0.1" ].97 per share and revenues reaching 8.3 million. These anticipated figures reflect impressive year-over-year growth of 31% and 30%, respectively, as reported by TipRanks. As the second quarter approaches, it is important to acknowledge that CrowdStrike's stock has encountered considerable declines in recent weeks. A global IT outage in July, caused by a problematic update from CrowdStrike, resulted in a significant drop in share price. This incident had far-reaching effects, impacting banks, airlines, and emergency services across the globe. Over the past three months, the stock has seen a decline of 23.3%. Analysts’ Mixed Sentiment on CrowdStrike Amidst Recent Outage According to the Bulls Say, Bears Say tool from TipRanks, bearish analysts argue that the recent outage has exposed quality assurance issues within CrowdStrike, potentially leading customers to postpone purchases. They also suggest that this incident may have stalled several deals, presenting a moderate challenge to the company's Q2 FY25 Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). Furthermore, they anticipate that management might lower Q3 ARR projections to around 0 million. Conversely, bullish analysts perceive the current pressure on the stock as an attractive buying opportunity. They emphasize that in a Zero-Trust environment, the demand for endpoint security is on the rise, positioning CrowdStrike as a pivotal player in the cyber platform market. What Do Options Traders Anticipate? Utilizing TipRanks’ Options tool, we can glean insights into what options traders expect from the stock following its earnings report. The anticipated earnings movement is calculated by assessing the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the announcement. According to the tool, options traders are currently forecasting a 9.93% move in either direction. Is CrowdStrike a Buy or Sell? As we near Q2, the majority of Wall Street analysts have upheld their Buy ratings on the stock over the past week, with the exception of Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick, who ranks among the top 1% of Wall Street experts and has opted for a Hold rating on CRWD. Based on the consensus among analysts, CrowdStrike stock is considered a buy ahead of the Q2 earnings release. It boasts a Strong Buy consensus rating, comprising 30 Buy recommendations, six Holds, and one Sell. With an average price target of 9.65, the expected price target for CRWD implies a potential upside of 27.75%." max_tokens="3500" temperature="0.3" top_p="1.0" best_of="1" presence_penalty="0.1" frequency_penalty="frequency_penalty"].97 per share and revenues of 8.3 million, representing year-over-year increases of 31% and 30%, respectively. Recently, CrowdStrike's stock has declined by 23.3% due to a global IT outage in July caused by a faulty update, which affected various sectors worldwide. Analysts have mixed sentiments; bearish analysts cite quality assurance issues from the outage that may delay customer purchases and stall deals, while bullish analysts see the stock pressure as a buying opportunity, emphasizing the growing importance of endpoint security. Options traders expect a 9.93% price movement following the earnings report. Most Wall Street analysts maintain their Buy ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of Strong Buy, reflecting 30 Buy, six Hold, and one Sell recommendations, and an average price target of 9.65, indicating a potential upside of 27.75%.
Winsage
August 8, 2024
Leaked videos from a confidential Microsoft meeting revealed details about the now-canceled Midori project, which ran from 2008 to 2015. The project aimed to transform Microsoft's software ecosystem, focusing on cloud technology, concurrency, safety, and interoperability with Windows. Key team member Joe Duffy discussed a device driver model where third-party code would operate outside the kernel, allowing the operating system to isolate failures. Microsoft claims that insights from Midori are being integrated into future initiatives, including Windows 11, despite the challenges posed by Windows' existing architecture.
Tech Optimizer
August 5, 2024
A global IT outage caused by a flawed software update from CrowdStrike has led to increased cybercriminal activity, with phishing campaigns and malware distribution targeting individuals and businesses. The outage, which began at 1:20 a.m. ET on Friday, affected organizations reliant on Windows computers using CrowdStrike Falcon, resulting in widespread system failures. The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a warning about the surge in online criminal activity and advised caution when interacting with communications related to the incident. CrowdStrike's CEO, George Kurtz, acknowledged the disruption and the company's efforts to assist affected customers. CrowdStrike is working to deploy a previous version of its Falcon software and has provided workaround steps for users experiencing issues.
Winsage
August 2, 2024
Dave Plummer, a veteran Microsoft Software Engineer, discussed the history of the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in Windows. A recent global IT outage by CrowdStrike affected over 8.5 million Windows devices with BSOD errors. The authorship of the BSOD has been debated, with a blog post by Microsoft developer Raymond Chen clarifying that former CEO Steve Ballmer did not write the BSOD text. Chen identified three versions of blue screens: 1. Windows 3.1 had a "black screen of death" and no BSOD; Ballmer wrote the text for the Ctrl+Alt+Del screen but not the BSOD. 2. Windows 95 allowed users to skip the BSOD, and Chen contributed to its final form in 1995. 3. Windows NT, authored by John Vert, is referred to as the "true Blue Screen of Death," indicating an unrecoverable system failure.
Winsage
July 31, 2024
Microsoft Corporation is reminding Windows 11 users about the importance of data backup through a full-screen pop-up message promoting its OneDrive cloud storage service. The message encourages users to back up their desktop, documents, and pictures folders in the cloud. OneDrive offers a free storage limit of 5GB, and users may need to purchase additional storage for larger backups. This initiative follows a recent global IT outage linked to a problematic update from CrowdStrike and comes amid scrutiny of Microsoft's security measures compared to Apple's.
Winsage
July 27, 2024
A global IT outage caused by a problematic update from CrowdStrike led millions of Windows computers to experience Blue Screen of Death errors, significantly disrupting airlines, hospitals, banks, and businesses worldwide. United, Delta, and American Airlines faced thousands of canceled flights, while Southwest Airlines remained operational due to its reliance on the outdated Windows 3.1 operating system, which has not been updated since 2001. This legacy system was unaffected by the CrowdStrike update, allowing Southwest to avoid similar disruptions. Additionally, Southwest uses Windows 95 for staff scheduling, which also escaped the update's impact. Despite its operational resilience, Southwest's operations were indirectly affected by disruptions at other airports, and there are concerns about the long-term viability of its outdated systems.
Winsage
July 26, 2024
An IT crisis struck Atlanta when a faulty update from security software firm CrowdStrike caused an outage, affecting an estimated 8.5 million Windows devices globally. The incident cost companies over billion in revenue, with Fortune 500 companies potentially losing more. IT technicians worked overtime to get systems back up and running, highlighting the importance of IT workers during such crises. Lessons learned included the importance of having an up-to-date business continuity plan, diversifying providers, and storing key data in different places.
Winsage
July 26, 2024
Nearly all systems running CrowdStrike's software are back online, with over 97% restored as of July 25th. Approximately 250,000 devices are still offline due to a bug in the software. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz thanked customers and staff for their efforts in fixing the systems and promised to restore every impacted system. The process to bring systems back online has been time-consuming, with solutions shared by CrowdStrike and Microsoft within 24 hours of the problem being reported. Microsoft has released a tool to expedite the recovery process. CrowdStrike has provided more detail on how the issue arose and has committed to measures to prevent a recurrence. The top 500 US companies, excluding Microsoft, suffered billion in financial losses from the outage.
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