Microsoft Blames Crowdstrike Meltdown on 2009 European Union Deal

Microsoft attributes the recent Crowdstrike failure to a 2009 regulatory deal with the European Union, which allowed external security developers to access their software, leading to critical bugs.

Points

• Microsoft blames the Crowdstrike failure on a 2009 EU deal.
• The deal required Microsoft to give external security developers access to their software.
• The failure resulted in an IT outage affecting 8.5 million Windows systems globally.
• The crypto community highlighted the advantages of decentralized systems in preventing such failures.
• The incident reignited discussions on the resiliency of decentralized blockchain architectures.

In the wake of a massive IT outage that affected 8.5 million Windows systems globally, Microsoft has attributed the failure to a 2009 regulatory deal with the European Union. This deal required Microsoft to provide external security developers with the same level of access to their software as Microsoft itself, paving the way for critical bugs.

![Crowdstrike Failure

Cointelegraph

The outage, which occurred between July 18 and July 19, has been labeled as the largest information technology outage in history. It brought operations to a halt at financial institutions, airports, emergency services, and media broadcasting networks. The root cause was identified as an upgrade bug related to the third-party security firm CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz clarified that the downtime was not due to a hack or malicious exploit, but an upgrade issue.

Patrick Wardle, CEO of DoubleYou, explained that ecosystems like Apple’s macOS are more resistant to such errors due to their walled-off architecture. In contrast, the 2009 EU deal required Microsoft to open up its software to external security developers, increasing the potential for critical bugs.

In the aftermath, the crypto community took to social media to highlight the benefits of decentralized blockchain architectures. Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin wallet service Casa, pointed out that Bitcoin’s core software does not auto-update, reducing systemic risk. Senator Cynthia Lummis echoed these sentiments, citing Bitcoin’s resilience during the meltdown as evidence of the superiority of decentralized systems over centralized ones with single points of failure.

解説

• The IT outage caused by CrowdStrike’s failure highlights the risks associated with centralized systems that allow broad external access.
• Microsoft’s 2009 deal with the EU, intended to level the playing field for security developers, inadvertently increased vulnerability.
• Decentralized blockchain systems like Bitcoin are seen as more resilient because they avoid single points of failure and do not rely on automatic updates that could introduce systemic risks.
• The incident underscores the ongoing debate between the effectiveness of centralized versus decentralized systems in maintaining security and operational integrity.