IT experts cautioned that the global tech infrastructure may require weeks to fully recover from the recent disruption. Southern California airports, ports, government agencies, and private businesses were still recovering from a significant global technology outage caused by a faulty software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. This incident led to what experts described as the largest IT outage in history. The recovery process was expected to be prolonged, with some systems experiencing blue screens and potential delays of days or weeks before returning to normal operation. Various operations in Southern California, including airports and ports, were affected, causing flight delays and cancellations. Despite initial disruptions, operations were gradually returning to normal by Saturday. The impact was felt worldwide, with reports of issues in Germany, the UK, and various tech companies. CrowdStrike has taken responsibility for the error and is working to resolve the issue. Additionally, Microsoft is investigating the extent of the outage. The incident also affected court hearings in Los Angeles and disrupted shipments at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. However, operations at the ports were eventually restored, and steps were being taken to address the cybersecurity breach at the court.
During the night, four terminals encountered computer problems but were able to fix them with minimal disruptions.
The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that they did not experience any issues.
The Orange County Fire Authority mentioned that the outage temporarily impacted some internal systems, but emergency response operations remained unaffected.
Amtrak noted that the outage was causing problems with credit card transactions for its Pacific Surfliner service on Friday. Customers can use Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal for online reservations.
Metrolink informed customers on Friday morning that the outage was affecting its smartphone app, warning that passengers may face difficulties when using the app or purchasing tickets. The problem was resolved by late morning.
Even Starbucks, the popular coffee chain, was impacted as its online ordering system went offline on Friday morning.
