July 20, 2024

Microsoft and CrowdStrike update

Scott Gosling

National Practice Manager - Microsoft at Data^#3

Connect

Microsoft are aware of an issue that started on 19 July 2024 at 04:09UTC, when CrowdStrike released an update that began impacting IT systems globally. Microsoft teams are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online. This issue impacted both on-premises and various cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud).

CrowdStrike has released a public statement on Windows Sensor Update addressing the matter, and it includes recommended steps for a workaround. For systems running in Azure please check Azure status for updates and options for recovery. Naturally, IT systems and doing business are intrinsically interlinked today. When change happens within IT systems, this has a relationship with the rest of the organisation.

Understanding Microsoft’s Update Process

Considering these recent developments, you may wonder about the implications of Microsoft releasing an update.

Here’s what you need to know:

Diverse Ecosystem: Microsoft serves a wide array of customers, products, and services across various environments.
Update Benefits: Each update brings significant advantages, including security enhancements, feature improvements, and performance optimisations.
Staged Rollouts: To ensure a smooth transition, public updates are rolled out in stages. This approach allows you to:
- Test: Similar to spot-testing a cleaner on fabric, you can apply updates to a small segment before wider deployment.
- Control: You maintain control over the timing and scale of updates, aligning them with your organisation’s priorities.
- Plan: You have the opportunity to plan and prepare for updates, minimising disruption.

In certain cases, you may also collaborate directly with Microsoft’s update teams, gaining insights and support tailored to your organisation’s needs. Please note that different products and services do have different update processes that may follow a variation of the above.

Resources

For Windows see this blog: Windows monthly updates explained
Microsoft Partners can also take advantage of the Security Update Validation Program (SUVP). It’s a quality assurance testing program designed for the monthly security update release.
For Microsoft 365: Overview of the update process for Microsoft 365 Apps & Microsoft 365 Roadmap
For Dynamics 365: Stay current with Dynamics 365 service updates
Azure contains hundreds of services that all have unique lifecycle considerations, start here: Azure updates

Important note: During challenging times there may be bad actors at play looking to take advantage of a given situation. Ensure all troubleshooting steps and advice is well checked, cross checked and coming from a well known authoritative source before taking action.