Software glitch disrupts essential services worldwide

Defective update crashed millions of Windows computers, including in S'pore

- Irene Tham

Millions of computers across the world crashed on July 19 in a major technology outage, disrupting essential services including those of banks, airlines, railways, media companies and supermarkets.

From grounded flights and delays at airports and railway stations to the temporary closure of supermarkets because payment tills were down, the disruption stemmed from American cyber-security firm CrowdStrike’s defective software update for Microsoft Windows computers.

The problem was first reported in Australia after the software updates were pushed out, causing computer users to see a dreaded “blue screen of death”.

Experts said it could take days before everything is back to normal, as the computers have to be fixed manually and not through remote updates.

Singapore was not spared. Computer users here first reported the blue screens at around noon.

At Changi Airport, check-in processes for more than 10 carriers, including Singapore Airlines’ budget arm Scoot as well as Jetstar, AirAsia and Cebu Pacific Air, had to be handled manually.

These included the issuance of boarding passes. The disruption also delayed a number of departing flights and resulted in long queues and chaos at Changi Airport.

SingPost said that its mail and parcel tracking system was also hit.

The outage also affected some carparks, which had to keep their barrier arms lifted to allow motorists to enter and exit.

Operations at The Straits Times newsroom were also briefly affected.