What is CrowdStrike? How the network security system caused airport disruptions worldwide
The CrowdStrike outage, which caused the federal government to close the Social Security Administration's offices, is also causing major problems for airlines and airports across the country Friday.
But why is an internet outage taking down the air travel industry? It’s more than just ticketing and reservations.
Here’s why it’s affecting air travel.
Why are flights canceled?
First, the reservation systems that handle booking, canceling, and changing tickets relies on CrowdStrike’s software. This means passengers might have trouble making new reservations or adjusting existing ones.
Next, the check-in systems are also impacted. Travelers will find it difficult to check in online or at airport kiosks, which delays getting their boarding passes.
Baggage handling is another area hit hard. The systems used to check in, track, and manage luggage would be impacted, leading to delays and potential mix-ups with passengers’ bags.
Security screening processes are also vulnerable. Systems that help coordinate the security checks for passengers and their bags will see delays, slowing down the process at checkpoints.
Flight operations, which includes scheduling flights, assigning gates, and managing crews, will see disruptions as well.
And passenger information systems will struggle to provide updates about flight statuses, delays, and gate changes. This means travelers might not get up-to-date or correct information about their flights.
What is CrowdStrike?
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, along with Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston, created CrowdStrike in 2012.
CrowdStrike is a key network security provider that guards major companies, including airlines and banks, from cyberattacks, breeches and other threats to their respective networks.
Kurtz said a defect included in a content update for Microsoft Windows devices caused the mass outage.
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Why CrowdStrike is so vital to the airline industry
