Friday’s global technology outage is having ripple effects in Lucas County; transit services, health-care organizations, and social services are among the businesses affected.
The international outage was connected to CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm used by a multitude of global industries. After CrowdStrike issued a software update, machines running the Microsoft Windows operating system began to crash, explained Ahmad Javaid, associate professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Toledo.
According to Mr. Javaid, while there have been similar outages from a technical standpoint, this is the largest of its kind. Any local businesses using CrowdStrike services would have been affected, he said.
Lucas County Job and Family Services and Lucas County Child Support Enforcement Agency services may be unavailable Friday because of the global outage, said Sarah Elms, the communications director for the Board of Lucas County Commissioners.
If members of the public are unable to complete their scheduled interview with JFS or get through to CSEA because of the outage, they should contact JFS next week at 844-640-6446 between 8 a.m. and noon or CSEA next week at 419-213-3001 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., said Ms. Elms.
Toledo Express Airport has also been affected by the outage, said Tim O’Donnell, the airport director.
An Allegiant Air flight that was scheduled to take off Friday morning was still awaiting departure by Friday afternoon. While the flight did arrive, Allegiant wasn’t able to get a departure put through because the global outage prevented them from getting a flight manifest — an inventory that includes the names of passengers, seat assignments, baggage, and cargo details.
“Allegiant is the only affected operator we have at the airport that we’re aware of,” Mr. O’Donnell said.
While some businesses have experienced major issues or changes in patron services, others have only felt low-grade impacts of the outage.
Mercy Health has several Microsoft systems, but they have been minimally impacted, said Erica Blake, the director of public relations and communications for Mercy.
“We are employing our standard backup procedures to help ensure continuous and uninterrupted patient care,” she said in a statement.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital has also experienced technical difficulties, but patient care has not been impacted, the hospital reported in a statement.
The Toledo Police Department experienced minimal impact from the outage. While a couple of alarms continue to lose service, most technology is intact, said a dispatch officer.
Local Huntington and KeyBank locations report no issues. The Toledo Lucas County Public Library also remains unaffected. As of noon on Friday, the city of Toledo was unaware of any issues caused by the CrowdStrike outage.
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