A faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike caused a global outage last Friday, apparently affecting some 8.5 million Windows devices, according to Microsoft itself.
The update triggered a blue screen of death (BSOD), knocking offline systems used by hospitals, airlines, and banks. Only machines running Windows were affected — according to CrowdStrike, the total number of devices affected was “less than one percent of all Windows machines.”
The update “was designed to target newly observed, malicious named pipes being used by common C2 frameworks in cyberattacks,” according to CrowdStrike. Unfortunately, it included a logic error, crashing the OS. In the blog post on Saturday, Microsoft’s VP of enterprise and OS security, David Weston, wrote that the company is working with CrowdStrike to “develop a scalable solution” to fix the faulty update. Microsoft has also called for help from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Unfortunately, not everything is fixed quite yet — just ask Delta flyers over the weekend.
— Mat Smith
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Kunitsu-Gami review: Demonic delights
Come to defend humanity, stay for the beautifully rendered desserts.
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‘It shouldn’t be there.’
NASA scientists say pure sulfur has been found on Mars for the first time after the Curiosity rover inadvertently uncovered a cluster of yellow crystals when it drove over a rock. And it looks like the area is filled with it. While minerals containing sulfur have been observed on the red planet, elemental sulfur has never been seen before. Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist, said: “It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it.”
There’s trail mix and coffee too, for your own refueling.
Rivian just opened its first EV charging rest stop, 24 miles outside Yosemite National Park. Alongside the five DC fast chargers, only for Rivian owners, there are bathrooms, a lounge with a small library, a water refill station, free coffee, and make-your-own trail mix. These other amenities are open to anyone, and Rivian says it’s planning more Charging Outposts “around national parks and other high-traffic areas across the country.”