Cybersecurity firm: 97% of Windows sensors affected by IT outage restored

George Kurtz, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of CrowdStrike, says 97 percent of Windows sensors are back online as of July 25.

The update comes more than five days after a global cyber outage disrupted the operations of airlines, media and financial services.

CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software is used by many industries, including airlines, hospitals, and retailers, to prevent hacks and data breaches.

On July 19, the cybersecurity firm said a software update triggered worldwide Microsoft information technology (IT) outages.

Providing an update via his LinkedIn on Thursday, Kurtz said over 97 percent of the affected Windows sensors have been restored.

“This progress is thanks to the tireless efforts of our customers, partners, and the dedication of our team at CrowdStrike,” Kurtz said.

“However, we understand our work is not yet complete, and we remain committed to restoring every impacted system.

“Our recovery efforts have been enhanced thanks to the development of automatic recovery techniques and by mobilizing all our resources to support our customers.

“We published a preliminary incident report (PIR) detailing how this happened and the measures we’re taking to prevent such incidents in the future.”

Kurtz also assured that the firm would ensure full restoration as soon as possible.

“To our customers still affected, please know we will not rest until we achieve full recovery. At CrowdStrike, our mission is to earn your trust by safeguarding your operations,” he said.

“I am deeply sorry for the disruption this outage has caused and personally apologize to everyone impacted. While I can’t promise perfection, I can promise a response that is focused, effective, and with a sense of urgency.”

On July 20, Microsoft said the global cyber outage affected 8.5 million Windows devices.

Over 4,000 flights — nearly 4 percent of all scheduled flights globally — were cancelled as a result of the disruption.