Delaware DMV locations closed on July 19 due to Crowdstrike, Microsoft global IT outage

Krys'tal Griffin and Anthony DiMattia, Delaware News Journal
·2 min read

Delaware’s DMV locations will be closed on July 19 due to technical issues.

Residents needing to visit a DMV location in Delaware should be aware that all DMV locations are not operational on Friday due to a global IT outage.

Details on the global IT outage

A United Airlines monitor displays a blue error screen inside Terminal C in Newark International Airport, after United Airlines and other airlines grounded flights due to a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to Crowdstrike's "Falcon Sensor" software which crashed Microsoft Windows systems, in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., July 19, 2024.
A United Airlines monitor displays a blue error screen inside Terminal C in Newark International Airport, after United Airlines and other airlines grounded flights due to a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to Crowdstrike's "Falcon Sensor" software which crashed Microsoft Windows systems, in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., July 19, 2024.

Major airlines, media companies, banks and telecoms firms around the world reported systems outages Friday that were disrupting their operations.

In the U.S., American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines were among those who grounded flights less than an hour after Microsoft said it resolved a cloud-services-related outage that impacted several low-cost carriers.

Details on flight disruptions: What is Crowdstrike? Microsoft outage causes flight delays including Philly, Wilmington

The outages appeared to be linked to an update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which is used by over half of Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. firm said in a promotional video this year.

In a post on X, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the outage was not a "security incident or cyberattack."

He said it was connected to a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts." He said the issue has been "identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed."

When will Microsoft be back up?

In a post on X, Microsoft said that the underlying cause of the outage was fixed but "residual impact is continuing to affect some Microsoft 365 apps and services."

"We're conducting additional mitigations to provide relief," the post read.

How does this impact the Delaware DMV?

Delaware’s DMV locations are closed on July 19,2024, due to technical issues stemming from a global IT outage. Pictured above is a handwritten closure notice posted outside of the Delaware DMV in New Castle.
Delaware’s DMV locations are closed on July 19,2024, due to technical issues stemming from a global IT outage. Pictured above is a handwritten closure notice posted outside of the Delaware DMV in New Castle.

The Delaware DMV has a notice on its website saying, “Due to the global IT outage, all DMV locations are closed on July 19, 2024. All phones are down. We are working to resolve the issues and thank you for your patience.”

If your DMV-related issue must be handled in person, the DMV is open Monday through Friday, with Monday, July 22, being the next operational business day.

Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.    

This report contains material from Reuters.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Global IT outage linked to Crowdstrike closes Delaware DMVs on July 19