CrowdStrike glitch: Blessed are those who use outdated operating systems
Security experts never tire of castigating outdated operating systems or software. However, these users were advantaged during the CrowdStrike attack.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates presents the Windows 95 operating system to the public in the USA.
(Image: dpa, DB/dpa)
While the IT systems of banks, airlines, publishing houses and the like were brought to their knees worldwide due to the faulty CrowdStrike update, this time those who are otherwise often the victims of security incidents and come in for criticism were spared: users of outdated operating systems and software. For example, the Pirate Party reported on X that Saarland's Minister-President Anke Rehlinger had stated that Saarland had only been affected by the CrowdStrike incident to a minor extent. The reason for this was the outdated Microsoft products on the Saarland authorities' PCs, which had not been updated for a long time.
The American airline Southwest Airlines was also unaffected by the outages, according to its own statements, as it informed the television station CNN. The airline was able to save itself thanks to the use of a 32-year-old operating system (Windows 3.1 and Windows 95), according to the American digital magazine Digital Trends. Russia was also on the winning side in the global IT chaos, as the IT magazine Golem reports that it was completely unimpressed by the update glitch. Due to Western sanctions since the start of the Ukraine war, many US companies are no longer supplying products to Russia – including CrowdStrike.
However, these examples should not set a precedent. However, the update practices of software companies will now be put to the test for now.
(ur)
