Worldwide Digital Disaster + Other Headlines

Tuesday Digest (07.23.24)

Digital Disaster Can Happen Quickly

The news of Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race yesterday quickly eclipsed the news cycle coverage of the global CrowdStrike incident on Friday, but today I want to turn our attention back to that disaster because I think it says a lot about how precarious our society is right now.

On Friday, critical technology systems around the world collapsed within minutes because one company—a prominent cybersecurity business called CrowdStrike—made a coding mistake in the rollout of a software update. It impacted banks, airlines and hospitals, leaving travelers stranded, forcing healthcare systems to cancel surgeries, and shutting down certain financial transactions.

Already it’s being called “the worst information-technology disaster in history.”

It probably won’t be the last such disaster, however.