What is CrowdStrike?

CrowdStrike is an American cybersecurity technology company that specialises in cloud workload and endpoint security, threat intelligence, and cyber attack response services.

It offers disruptive technologies to prevent breaches and secure organisations against various cyber threats. Because of an update gone wrong,” this week a US cybersecurity company apparently experienced a worldwide IT system breakdown intended to protect businesses and individuals through the internet 

Aeroplanes were grounded in the United States, trains affected, delays at Spain airports and UK’s SkyNews unable to broadcast…the global chaos that has resulted from this CrowdStrike and Microsoft IT failure is unrivalled.

However, how can the relatively unknown company as CrowdStrike have such a big impact globally?

 

How Does CrowdStrike Work?

 

CrowdStrike offers the Falcon platform, which provides comprehensive protection against a wide range of attacks, from malware and exploits to zero-day vulnerabilities and hard-to-detect threats like credential theft.

The Falcon platform delivers its solution via the cloud which merges next generation antivirus (NGAV), endpoint detection and response (EDR), cyber threat intelligence with managed threat hunting capabilities plus security hygiene.

This single lightweight yet powerful solution is managed through a single cloud-based sensor thus ensuring robust security without slowing down system performance.

 

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Who Owns CrowdStrike?

 

CrowdStrike was established in 2012 by George Kurtz who had been previously employed at McAfee. The company is owned by individual investors, institutions’ as well as retail ones.

The shares of institutional investors account for about 40% of the total stock on the market while those of public companies and individual investors share the remaining 57%.

The largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group with a holding of around 6.79%.

Does CrowdStrike Have Antivirus or EDR?

 

The reality of CrowdStrike’s platform covers antivirus along with EDR (endpoint detection and response) functionalities. The component of EDR referred to as Real Time Response enhances visibility for security teams allowing them to identify and resolve threats immediately without compromising the performance of their systems.

This makes it a versatile product for comprehensive defence against multiple cyber threats.

 

Who Uses CrowdStrike?

 

Falcon-IoC by CrowdStrikes is trusted by over 50% of fortune 500 companies and more than 25% of Global2000 companies across the globe in providing real-time protection against data breaches, ransom-ware attacks etc. Some examples include top global investment banks, universities, and many more. 

 

What Caused the Global Blue Screen of Death to Occur?

 

A recent update from CrowdStrike led to a worldwide crash of Windows 10 systems resulting in a blue screen (Blue Screen of Death error).

This serious problem can force Windows to shut down or restart with a message indicating that there is something wrong with the device. Microsoft admitted that it was due to an update from CrowdStrike but the latter acknowledged the issue and provided updates on their website. 

 

What Is CrowdStrike Doing Next?

 

There are a few places on developer websites where workarounds have begun to be posted about the Blue Screen of Death issue and CrowdStrike is actively engaged in resolving it.

The company has not released an official statement about the effects of this technical problem but still keeps updating its support channels. When customers call CrowdStrike support, it’s been reported that they receive automated messages that acknowledge that there’s a challenge and it’s being worked on.