Note: This article was first published on 23 July 2024.
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Windows devices all over the world were taken offline last Friday when the cybersecurity giant pushed out a problematic update, resulting in worldwide mayhem. If this is all new to you, check out our article here which summarises the event.
Now that the dust has somewhat settled, Microsoft has revealed that around 8.5 million Windows devices were affected and the cause of this can be somewhat traced to an agreement Microsoft made with the European Commission back in 2009.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft describes an agreement the company made with the EU in 2009. Back then, the European Commission was concerned that Microsoft would use its position to give itself an unfair advantage. An agreement was therefore made where Microsoft “agreed that it would give makers of security software the same level of access to Windows that Microsoft gets”.
As a result, today’s CrowdStrike Falcon security software runs as a kernel module, which gives it full access to a system. A kernel is critical because it manages memory, processes, files, and is referred to as “the heart of an operating system.” So when a faulty update gets pushed out, problems can get from bad to worse quick.
Why weren’t Macs affected? That’s because Apple stopped granting developers kernel-level access in 2020 with macOS Catalina. Consequently, Macs cannot suffer from the same type of failure. Although Apple hasn’t been forced yet to change this, the European Commission is currently scrutinising Apple’s practices and has already successfully forced it to allow third-party App Stores under its Digital Markets Act.
As it stands, it sure sounds like there’s a sense of frustration at Microsoft and that it was dragged into this mess through something that is out of its control and not entirely of its own doing.
Source: The Wall Street Journal via MacRumors, Forbes
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