Bonus E2 – CrowdStrike Crisis: An IT Nightmare Unfolds

Off the Wire: A Play by Play on Cybersecurity and Technology Issues

Introduction: - Welcome back to a bonus episode of Off the Wire. - Highlight of the week: a bad patch pushed out by CrowdStrike caused worldwide outages. Initial Impact: - Anthony's experience: dealing with server and workstation blue screens. - Timeline of the incident: starting at 12:09 AM with alerts coming in around 12:40 AM. - Initial thoughts and confusion about the cause of the outages. Incident Breakdown: - Detailed recount of the events from the first alert to the realization of the issue. - Actions taken: communicating with the team, creating a list of affected servers, and initial troubleshooting steps. - The emotional toll: dealing with the uncertainty and high-stress situation. Discovery and Response: - Identifying the issue was linked to CrowdStrike after finding relevant information on their support portal. - Relief upon realizing it was not a hack but a bad patch. - Steps taken to mitigate the issue: removing CrowdStrike from systems, following CrowdStrike's fix instructions. Operational Challenges: - Logistics of fixing the issue across remote and local systems. - Game plan for addressing workstation issues at different office locations. - The coordination effort: managing communications and task delegation. Post-Incident Reflection: - The importance of a coordinated response and having a "bug-out" bag. - CrowdStrike's handling of the incident and the need for transparency. - Discussion on potential industry-wide implications and the fragility of IT infrastructure. Impact and Future Considerations: - Worldwide impact: other organizations affected including critical infrastructure. - Reflection on CrowdStrike's reputation and future trust. - Legal and liability considerations for CrowdStrike in various jurisdictions. Closing Thoughts: - The importance of preparedness and having a response plan in place. - Lessons learned from the incident and changes to be implemented. - Invitation to listeners to share feedback and follow on social media. Outro: - Thanks for joining this bonus episode. - Reminder about the regular podcast schedule and mention of recent episodes. - Encouragement to share the podcast with others and stay tuned for more content.