Overworked IT'ers

CrowdStrike sends food vouchers after glitch

Numerous payment terminals were also paralyzed by the error update.(Bild: APA/AFP/Saeed KHAN)

Following the faulty CrowdStrike update that paralyzed millions of computers worldwide, the software company is thanking overworked IT experts with a ten-dollar voucher. In an email, a manager pointed out that the PC crashes had created additional work for employees.

"To express our gratitude, the next coffee or snack will be on us late at night," the voucher for the delivery service Uber Eats read, as reported by the financial service Bloomberg on Wednesday (local time). According to a CrowdStrike spokeswoman, the voucher codes were sent to team members and partners who had helped the company's customers to restore their systems. They were not sent to customers, she told Bloomberg.

8.5 million computers paralyzed
A faulty update for IT security software from CrowdStrike caused widespread disruption in many places around the world last Friday. An estimated 8.5 million Windows computers were affected. The consequences were felt particularly strongly in air traffic, but some supermarkets, hospitals and television stations also had problems.

CrowdStrike has since discovered that the testing mechanisms for the software update were leaking a faulty file, which then caused Windows computers to crash. The test systems are now being improved - and updates are to be rolled out gradually in future so that any problems do not affect all customers immediately.