The first systems are being restarted – but according to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the IT glitch will continue to cause disruptions for some time. There have been several reports from operators of critical infrastructure.
The IT glitch is currently causing chaos worldwide – including in Germany, where the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) believes it will lead to restrictions for some time. “The problems will last for some time, we cannot expect a very quick solution,” said BSI boss Claudia Plattner. A forecast for recovery is difficult – “but it will not be a matter of hours.”
Airports, financial service providers, hospitals and many other facilities are affected. “The BSI currently has 17 reports from operators of critical infrastructure,” says Plattner. However, further reports are still coming in.
Many companies are not required to report, but the effects were immediately noticeable and visible for many. “We also have reports from around 20 very large companies and corporations that also have corresponding restrictions.” However, some of those affected are already in the process of restarting their IT systems.
According to BSI findings, the federal administration is not affected, and the agency has no information on state and local administrations. Private users are generally not affected.
Two causes of the problem
According to Plattner, there are currently two suspected causes of the problem, the connection between which is still being clarified. Firstly, there was a faulty update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike for Windows systems. This is the Falcon product, whose users are affected. In addition, there was a malfunction in the Microsoft Azure service.
CrowdStrike boss George Kurtz had also previously announced on Platform X that it was a faulty update. It was not a hacker attack, he stressed. “The problem has been identified and isolated and a fix has been provided.”
The error has been fixed – but in order for everything to work again, the customer’s systems must also be updated. CrowdStrike has now made a workaround available, which now has to be implemented everywhere, Plattner explained in the dailynews24-Interview. “We can do something. But it’s not like we can just flip a switch somewhere in a central backend and then the problems are suddenly solved.” In the worst case, individual affected computers will have to be restarted, but the necessary information has been published by the manufacturer. “It’s clear what needs to be done, but it will take a while. But little by little we’ll see things return to normal, and that’s already started.”
Operations at BER are gradually starting up again
The IT breakdown is currently causing chaos in many parts of the world. Airplanes had to remain on the ground, television stations were unable to broadcast their programs for hours, computers in banks and hospitals could no longer be used, and payment terminals failed.
In Germany, the glitch had a major impact on air traffic, among other things. On Friday morning, Berlin Airport had to temporarily suspend operations, and several airlines reported restrictions. At midday, Eurowings canceled more than 50 flights in Germany and to and from Great Britain in order to relieve the load on its IT systems.
Flight operations are now gradually starting up again at the capital’s BER airport. “There are still waiting times,” said a spokeswoman. Some flights have been cancelled by the airlines.
Clinics in Kiel and Lübeck cancel planned operations
There were also problems in health care. The Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital canceled all planned non-life-saving operations at its locations in Kiel and Lübeck for today. The outpatient clinics also remained closed, the hospital announced on its website. “The care of patients at the UKSH is guaranteed, as is emergency care.”
Supermarkets also reported disruptions – for example the Tegut chain. According to initial findings, Deutsche Bahn did not report any software problems.