On July 19, cyber security company CrowdStrike released a flawed software update to Falcon Sensor, their vulnerability scanner that detects system intrusions and hacking attempts. The update disrupted 8.5 million computers worldwide that used the Windows operating system. Whereas many airlines globally use a “point to point” operating model which mitigated the knock-on effects of the outage, several major US airlines were particularly susceptible because of the “hub and spoke” method favoured by them, funnelling passengers into hubs where they can connect to ongoing flights to their ultimate destination; an operating model that relies on a finely tuned, integrated system to ensure the connections can be made. One airline is said to have cancelled more than 5,000 flights between July 19 and 25, at a cost of about USD500m.
Read more here
arrow_forward