A faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike caused a global outage last Friday, apparently affecting some 8.5 million Windows devices, according to Microsoft itself. The update triggered a blue screen of death (BSOD), knocking offline systems used by hospitals, airlines, and banks. Only machines running Windows were affected — according to CrowdStrike, the total number of devices affected was “less than one percent of all Windows machines.”
The update “was designed to target newly observed, malicious named pipes being used by common C2 frameworks in cyberattacks,” according to CrowdStrike. Unfortunately, it included a logic error, crashing the OS. In the blog post on Saturday, Microsoft’s VP of enterprise and OS security, David Weston, wrote that the company is working with CrowdStrike to “develop a scalable solution” to fix the faulty update. Microsoft has also called for help from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Unfortunately, not everything is fixed quite yet — just ask Delta flyers over the weekend.
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
X is working on a way to block links in replies
.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND is a cyberpunk RPG with a ’90s aesthetic
What to read this weekend: The Light Eaters, Paranoid Gardens and I Was a Teenage Slasher
Samsung halts Galaxy Buds 3 Pro shipments amid quality control issues
You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
The foldable king, but for how much longer?
No one has been making foldable phones longer than Samsung. But the pace of innovation from the company has slowed while new challengers, like the OnePlus Open and Pixel Fold, have arrived. Now for 2024, Samsung has reinforced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with a stronger but significantly lighter frame, a new ultra-wide-angle camera and a bunch of AI-powered tools. It’s better, sure, but it feels like complacency is eroding Samsung’s foldable lead.
Come to defend humanity, stay for the beautifully rendered desserts.
Kunitsu-Gami is a game of two halves: frenzied combat and peaceful base building. Demon enemies are often gross (intentionally!), filled with pus, and armed with claws. The game blends real-time combat with tower-defense mechanics, with all of it taking place in a zoomed-out third-person view. With so many samey action RPGs and Soulslikes, Kunitsu-Gami takes a refreshingly different approach. Oh, and so much delicious-looking, hyper-detailed video game food.
‘It shouldn’t be there.’
NASA scientists say pure sulfur has been found on Mars for the first time after the Curiosity rover inadvertently uncovered a cluster of yellow crystals when it drove over a rock. And it looks like the area is filled with it. While minerals containing sulfur have been observed on the red planet, elemental sulfur has never been seen before. Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist, said: “It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it.”
There’s trail mix and coffee too, for your own refueling.
Rivian just opened its first EV charging rest stop, 24 miles outside Yosemite National Park. Alongside the five DC fast chargers, only for Rivian owners, there are bathrooms, a lounge with a small library, a water refill station, free coffee, and make-your-own trail mix. These other amenities are open to anyone, and Rivian says it’s planning more Charging Outposts “around national parks and other high-traffic areas across the country.”
Source: www.engadget.com