A computer update Friday wreaked havoc on systems throughout metro Detroit — and worldwide — that affected airlines, infrastructure, banks and health care, delaying flights at Metro Detroit Airport, causing traffic to slow on the Ambassador Bridge to and from Canada and even closing a Dearborn community college.
The software glitch created confusion and chaos as people woke up, went to work and tried to travel, because in many cases, the software update prevented other systems from working, and the public was unsure what, exactly, was happening.
The software problem, which resulted in such sudden widespread problems that it appeared to be a cyberattack, also caused Microsoft Windows to crash and, for some customers, display a blue screen, which frustrated computer users sometimes call a "Blue Screen of Death."
But gradually, as the day progressed, the situation for many seemed to improve as fixes were applied, although, the longer-term concerns of such an outage garnered attention from the tech industry — and the White House, which offered its support.
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Doug Witten, an assistant professor of computer science at Wayne State University, warned that the incidents were an example of just how vulnerable and interconnected our digital systems are and why threat protections from criminals, terrorists and foreign nations are so vital.
Witten, who was stuck in traffic Friday on the Blue Water Bridge to Canada, said the chaos was just a sample of what could happen if intentional harm were deliberately inflicted on the nation's — or the world's — cyber systems.
A report last year from the Government Accountability Office reinforced Witten's observation, noting that federal systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks, adding that "protecting cyber critical infrastructure," such as the power grid, is essential.
"What I'm scared about, as a cyber security professional, is what could happen," Doug Witten, an assistant professor of computer science at Wayne State University, told the Free Press by phone. "If this were an attack, we wouldn't be recovering from it."
A senior Biden administration official said Friday the White House had been convening agencies to assess impacts to the federal government’s operations and entities around the country and was ready to provide assistance as needed.
Website problems to grounded planes
For some businesses, such as DTE Energy, one of the nation's largest utilities, the disruption only interfered with its website and mobile application functions for a few overnight hours, which might have made the problem seem worse than it actually was, but, the company said, was quickly resolved.
Other companies, such as major airlines, faced potential disaster.
The update that triggered the fiasco was to a product connected to Austin-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, Reuters news reported. The cybersecurity firm said it was aware of the problem, which also appeared to interfere with Microsoft’s Windows Operating System, but, Microsoft had said, had been corrected.
The chaos was so widespread because the software is used by many of the nation's biggest businesses. CrowdStrike, in a promotional video, has said it is used by over half of "Fortune 500" companies, the largest U.S. businesses ranked by revenue by Fortune magazine, according to a USA Today report.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, who the White House said it was in contact with throughout the outage, took to social media early to assure the public the problem was caused by a glitch, a failed update, and not something more sinister.
"This is not a security incident or cyberattack," Kurtz said in a statement released at 5:45 a.m. on X. He referred customers to the company's tech support for the latest updates. "The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed."
Kurtz added that the company is "working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted," and recommend "organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels."
DTW is as a 'madhouse'
People at Detroit Metro described the airport as tense and chaotic, initially, but by early afternoon, the atmosphere was more calm and orderly.
Pam Schlaff of Clinton Township, who was set to fly to Honolulu and join the Norwegian Cruise Line, a group trip booked five months in advance, waited outside the Edward H. McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport Friday, as her Delta Airlines flight was delayed three times.
"It's irritating, and it's stressful," she said. "We were looking forward to having a great time."
Another couple in her group was moved to a flight departing Detroit on Saturday.
The flight delays also disrupted their hotel check-in in Hawaii, and the group is facing refund challenges.
One TV journalist called the airport "a madhouse" early Friday with computer check-in terminals down, and Delta — one of the three major airlines, the others were American and United, with grounded flights — at "a complete standstill" with just one line was open for passengers to check bags.
Federal Aviation Administration said the agency was "closely monitoring" the issue, and several airlines requested help. InsureMyTrip, a Rhode Island company that compares insurance rates, said it expected a surge in travel insurance claims nationwide, urging policyholders to file right away.
By about 1:30 p.m., McNamara Terminal was more orderly with anxious passengers waiting in seats or at baggage claims. Evans Terminal was busier, with travelers still waiting for flights: some standing in crowded lines; others, sitting in seats and on the floor.
Detroit Metro airport spokesman Randy Wimbley, who said he was inundated with inquiries, told the Free Press "some of the airlines" were affected, but operations are "returning to normal," adding "only the airlines can say when the issue will be completely resolved."
Customers, he said, "should check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport."
The Airport Authority, which oversees Detroit Metro, Wimbley added "doesn’t have a tool to track the number of cancellations and delays." and the "flight status is fed to our displays in our terminals, but not aggregated anywhere."
FlightAware, a database that tracks flight information, noted that tens of thousands of flights were delayed worldwide, with many canceled nationwide. Throughout the morning, the number of delays continued to tick upward globally, and at about 11 a.m. , at Metro Detroit it showed 59 delays, and 26 cancellations.
Delta, which uses Detroit as a connecting hub, said by about 8 a.m. it had resumed some departures , although, additional delays and cancelations are were expected. The airline added it issued a travel waiver for all customers who have booked flights departing Friday.
And American Airlines issued an apology .
Glitch slows bridge, tunnel traffic
On the Ambassador Bridge, between Detroit and Windsor, traffic was moving, but barely, as a result of the outage. Just before 9 a.m., vehicles appeared to be going about 10 mph into America, and moving a little faster — about 25 mph — into Canada, based on what Free Press reporter could determine.
Traffic also slowed — more for people entering the United States than leaving — in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Financial services, trades disrupted
On a large financial services scale, global companies from Australia to India and Germany warned of disruptions, including market trades that failed to go through, news outlets reported.
Comerica Bank — which is now headquarter in Dallas, but had, at one time, been based in Detroit — told the Free Press that its systems "were impacted by the event," but the financial institution's "recovery actions overnight mitigated the impact to our customers," and that by morning "all critical systems are healthy."
PNC Bank, based in Pittsburgh, sent a statement to the Free Press Friday morning indicating it was unaware of "any direct impact" from the software problem. PNC said it was still assessing "impacts to third and fourth parties," and "working to support our customers who may be experiencing issues."
Some Chase customers said the bank's systems were down with no estimate for when they'd be operational.
MSU Federal Credit Union said its systems were "up and running," according to a statement from April Clobes, the credit union’s president and CEO. "A few isolated desktops were affected, but there was no major impact on our members."
Hospitals scramble to fix systems
The software glitch also caused disruptions at Corewell Health, Michigan’s largest health system, which includes 21 hospitals across much of the lower peninsula along with the insurance provider Priority Health. Some procedures and appointments could be delayed for patients.
"Many of our computers and systems are affected by the current global technology issue," said Corewell, which was created when the Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health systems combined in 2022. Corewell offered assurance that "our teams are assessing the situation and working together to care for our patients" and "our hospitals and emergency rooms are open.”
By 3:30 p.m. Friday, Corewell said some computers and systems disruptions remained, but that it had "many solutions in place that allow us to continue to care for our patients."
The University of Michigan Health system — which includes the Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Medical Center campus along with U-M Health Sparrow in mid-Michigan — also reported tech disruptions, spokeswoman Mary Masson said.
She released a statement Friday morning that attributed tech issues to the software glitch, adding "there may be delays in trying to connect with our services," but added "operations are continuing, and we are not canceling procedures or appointments at this time."
Detroit-based Henry Ford Health also acknowledgedproblems connected to the CrowdStrike update: "Like so many, we are experiencing some disruptions due to a global technology outage. Our team continues to work diligently to restore all of our systems. We are able to continue to care for our patients."
By 5 p.m. Friday, Henry Ford said most of its systems had been restored, but "patients may experience some delays as our partners work to restore their own systems."
Trinity Health spokesperson Bobby Maldonado said the Livonia-based organization “was made aware of issues with some workstations and applications with Windows-based devices running CrowdStrike” early Friday morning. “As soon as the issue was identified, updates were halted and standard protocols to restore service and communicate with colleagues were implemented. We expect a quick resolution to any issues across our health care system.”
The Free Press asked for details from Corewell, U-M Health, Henry Ford Health and Trinity Health about which parts of hospital operations were affected, which procedures and appointments were likely to be delayed and how long it might be before the disruption is resolved, but didn't get detailed responses.
A spokesperson for the Detroit Medical Center, a for-profit eight-hospital health system based in Detroit, told the Free Press its practices were unaffected.
Governments services affected
Even various municipal, state and educational services were affected.
Royal Oak said the city's computers, which use Microsoft, went into repair mode, showing the blue screen. The Detroit suburb's phone lines were down until the afternoon, although emergency 911 was still operating, and many city employees, the city said, were unable to access their city email accounts.
State departments and agencies also were affected, with the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget — formerly Michigan Department of Management and Budget — announcing Friday its systems were down, but it was working to bring them back online.
And the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency confirmed its phone and online chat services were not working, although its online system, the Michigan Web Account Manager, was still operational. Technicians, the agency said, were attempting to resolve the issue, but there was no timeline for a resolution.
Still, if there were an upside, the tech disruption did give students at Henry Ford College in Dearborn a three-day weekend, as the school announced on its website it would be closed Friday. All of the classes on its campuses and even remotely were cancelled.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com. Staff writers Susan Tompor, Liam Rappleye and Adrienne Roberts contributed.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Global Microsoft outage causes delays at Detroit Metro Airport, businesses, banks
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