CrowdStrike: Content Update Glitch Caused Worldwide IT Crash

CrowdStrike says a glitch in test software led to last week’s massive IT outage.

The cybersecurity company released a report Wednesday (July 24), five days after a crash affected 8.5 million Windows machines around the world, leading to chaos at banks, airports and hospitals.

“CrowdStrike delivers security content configuration updates to our sensors in two ways: Sensor Content that is shipped with our sensor directly, and Rapid Response Content that is designed to respond to the changing threat landscape at operational speed,” the report said. “The issue on Friday involved a Rapid Response Content update with an undetected error.”

The report also outlines what CrowdStrike aims to do to prevent the problem from recurring, such as implementing “a staggered deployment strategy for Rapid Response Content in which updates are gradually deployed to larger portions of the sensor base,” while also giving customers more control over the delivery of these updates, letting them choose when and where they are deployed.

As PYMNTS wrote last week, the incident has shone a spotlight on software updates. In an interview here Friday (July 19), CompoSecure/Arculus Chief Product and Innovation Officer Adam Lowe noted that when a software update fails, companies usually have contingency plans.

But issues with essential security software like CrowdStrike can quickly escalate, and disruptions to core functions, especially at the Windows startup level, can be difficult to correct.

“In such cases, it may necessitate a complete system reinstallation from a prior backup, akin to wiping a hard drive and starting anew,” that report said. “This process is both complex and time-consuming, especially for systems that are locked out at startup, leaving limited options for a swift resolution.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS discussed the crash earlier this week with Finexio CEO Ernest Rolfson, who stressed the importance of quality control in software updates.

Rolfson said he was taken aback by the timing of a recent software update from a Finexio partner, rolled out in the morning and during the workweek.

“Typically, updates are scheduled after hours or on weekends to minimize disruptions, given the fact that best practices suggest staggering the release to avoid widespread issues if problems arise,” PYMNTS wrote.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the outage continues, with the Department of Transportation launching an investigation into Delta Air Lines’ handling of the incident, and two members of the House Homeland Security Committee calling on CrowdStrike’s CEO to testify about the crash.


Tether Co-Founder Reeve Collins Backs New Stablecoin Project

Tether Co-Founder Reeve Collins is reportedly backing a new stablecoin project called Pi Protocol that will be backed by yield-bearing real-world assets like bonds.

The new stablecoin is expected to debut on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains in the second half of the year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Feb. 18).

Pi aims to let industry participants who market the stablecoin get most of the profits from it, according to the report.

The company will use smart contracts to mint its USP stablecoin and will reward the minters with another token, USI, as yield, the report said.

“We view Pi Protocol as the evolution of stablecoins,” Collins told Bloomberg. “Tether has been extremely successful in showcasing demand for stablecoins. But they keep all the yield. We believe 10 years later the market is really ready to evolve.”

Collins served as Tether’s first CEO from 2013 to 2015, when he and his partners sold the company to the operators of the crypto exchange Bitfinex, according to the report.

Tether said in January that it made $13 billion in profits in 2024, Bloomberg reported Jan. 31, adding that the stablecoin issuer files quarterly information as part of a third-party attestation by accounting firm BDO rather than issuing audited financial statements.

In addition, Tether said it issued more than $23 billion in USDT in the last three months of 2024, and had more than $7 billion in excess reserves.

It was reported in January that an executive order issued by President Donald Trump will boost stablecoins and issuers like Tether and Circle Internet Financial.

Trump’s order aligned stablecoin’s with the government’s efforts to maintain the global supremacy of the dollar and blocked a potential competitor to stablecoins by barring development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

On Monday (Feb. 17), Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong (SCBHK), Animoca Brands and HKT said they agreed to form a joint venture to issue a stablecoin backed by the Hong Kong dollar.

Cedar Money said Jan. 30 that it raised $9.9 million in a seed round to support the growth of its payments software that uses stablecoins to facilitate cross-border payments between developed and emerging markets.