How a Software Update Caused a Global Meltdown

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 19: An information screen informs travelers that train information is not running due to the global technical outage on July 19, 2024 (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)

By Tom Nagorski

Tom Nagorski is the Managing Editor for The Cipher Brief.  He previously served as Global Editor for Grid and served as ABC News Managing Editor for International Coverage as well as Senior Broadcast Producer for World News Tonight.

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — While the world has gotten used to warnings about cyberattacks and the vulnerability of technology, Friday brought a different wake-up call – a reminder that it doesn’t take an attacker to bring about a global meltdown.

A huge and widespread technology outage disrupted operations across multiple industries in several parts of the world Friday, grounding flights and impacting health care, banking, media, and government services, in what some called a “historic” breakdown, and the “largest IT outage in history.” 

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