The massive computer outages of Friday July 20 were caused by an update of security software. Microsoft computers were affected but the source of the problem was an update supplied by a third-party security firm named CrowdStrike. Headlines showed the names of both Microsoft and CrowdStrike. I believe this was necessary because only computers running Microsoft softwre were affected: the information was valuable for those dealing with the problem. However the wording probably led the unsuspecting to believe that both firms were responsible. The articles which followed the headlines typically said that Microsoft had identified the problem and was helping those affected.
I would like to know about the relationship between Microsoft and CrowdStrike. It is quite likely that security software requires privileges that the OS maker has to provide through a special agreement. The two companies are separate, yet they are likely in a cooperative relationship of some sort. If Microsoft was not at all responsible for the ordeal, how do we explain its generous attitude? One possible explanation is that it understands that it does not dominate the OS field any more. Customers are likely to consider alternatives including GNU/Linux after this ordeal and it would not be good policy to be callous toward their anxiety. I would like to hear your opinions. Thank you in advance. --- CrowdStrike and Microsoft: What we know about global IT outage - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp4wnrxqlewo This is an example of an article from a major news article that says that Microsoft is working on mitigating the issue, without reporting whether it has said anything about its own responsibility. _______________________________________________ libreplanet-discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.libreplanet.org/mailman/listinfo/libreplanet-discuss
