New Delhi: A global outage at Microsoft has affected almost all sectors, including finance (stock market, banks, and NBFCs), public transport, aviation, businesses, media, and hospitality. Many computers crashed with a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error. This outage was mainly due to a problem with CrowdStrike, which caused Microsoft systems to fail to boot correctly.
However, according to a report by the South China Morning Post, China was mostly unaffected by the outage. The country’s airlines and banks were not impacted by the tech glitch, and operations at Beijing’s airports remained normal, according to Chinese state media.
Why was China less affected?
China’s minimal impact from the global outage is largely because of its reduced reliance on foreign service providers for cybersecurity and operations. The country has actively worked to decrease the use of foreign systems and hardware in its sectors. This strategy is the main reason why China experienced much less disruption compared to the United States, Europe, and parts of South Asia.
Chinese Tech Infrastructure Stays Strong
Reports indicate that while foreign businesses and hotel chains in China were affected by the outage, most of China’s infrastructure and institutions were not. Airports in neighboring countries like India, Nepal, and Pakistan faced operational issues, but Beijing and Shanghai airports functioned normally. This contrast is notable as advanced airports in the UK and US were significantly impacted by the outage.
What is CrowdStrike?
CrowdStrike is a global security software provider, serving numerous Fortune 500 companies, including major banks, healthcare, and energy firms. Affected systems often display the Blue Screen of Death and fail to restart properly. Founded in 2011 and based in Austin, Texas, CrowdStrike operates in over 170 countries and employed more than 7,900 people as of January.
What is blue screen of death?
The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) appears when the Windows operating system encounters a critical error and crashes. While the BSOD signifies that Windows has reached an unstable state and can’t continue running safely, it is frequently triggered by relatively minor issues that can be resolved easily.