"How Leave the World Behind started"— Internet reacts by comparing CrowdStrike global outage to plot of recently released film

A major CrowdStrike outage affected the entire world on Friday, July 19. This led to numerous major service failures for Microsoft users worldwide, as per Forbes. The cybersecurity company has attributed the outage to a software upgrade, which caused numerous Windows systems to boot up with the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD).

The outage was followed by reports of multiple disruptions around the globe affecting international airlines, hospitals, banks, and other businesses.

Meanwhile, X users took to the platform to compare the entire event with the plot for the movie Leave the World Behind, with one user writing:

“Everyone waking up this morning seeing news of the CrowdStrike hack that caused a Global IT Outage realizing this how “Leave the World Behind" started…”

“This Microsoft outage is basically the film Leave The World Behind becoming reality,” another user commented.

“Predictive programming from the Netflix movie "Leave The World Behind" "No internet. No phones. No going back to normal,” said another X user.

“Leave The World Behind (not) coming to a screen near you on July 19, 2024 #microsoft #crowdstrike #outage #netflix,” another X user wrote.

Other X users opined along similar lines.

“If you haven't watched "Leave the World Behind" yet, you should. #Microsoft,” advised another user.

“Am I watching a movie or is this a documentary” “2024 is going to be very chaotic” Barack Obama made a movie called ‘Leave the World Behind’ whereby a cyber blackout plunged the entire World into chaos. It’s almost as if they knew,” commented another X user.

“I’m watching this movie that is coincidentally produced by Barack & Michelle Obama called “Leave The World Behind.” It’s about a cyberattack blackout and a collapsing world. Ironic?” wrote another user.

“That movie Leave the World Behind is LITERALLY happening. Slowly but surely,” said another netizen.

For the unphased, the movie is about a family who is forced to cut their vacation short when two strangers bring news of a blackout. Now, both families must choose how to survive the impending crisis as the cyber threat increases, all the while trying to figure out where they fit into this disintegrating world.

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CrowdStrike CEO said outage wasn't due to cyberattack

The IT Outage has affected businesses and users across the globe (Image via Getty)

On Friday, July 19, a global CrowdStrike outage affected systems in Germany, Australia, India, and other nations. Forbes reported that flights were forced to be grounded, and banks, stock exchanges, payment processors, and emergency services were severely impacted by the outage.

Moreover, there were reports of electronic medical record (EMR) systems crashing in hospitals and error warnings displaying on self-checkout tills, ATMs, and television channels throughout the globe.

The Blue Screen of Death error has affected millions of Windows users globally, resulting in abrupt shutdowns or restarts.

A CrowdStrike upgrade concerning its Falcon Sensor was responsible for many of these outages. Forbes reported that solutions from Microsoft and CrowdStrike have been released, but problems still persist as a result of the outage, which has caused major airlines to ground flights, disrupted television, and shut down financial systems.

George Kurtz, the president and CEO of CrowdStrike, stated on X that the problem has been located, isolated, and fixed.

He further stated,

“This is not a security incident or cyberattack.”

Following the incident, netizens found the sequence of the event similar to that of the plot of a movie, Leave the World Behind. Hence, they took to X to say the same. For the unphased, in the film, a misanthropic woman and her carefree husband encounter catastrophic events for which they are wholly unprepared in the form of a significant cyberattack.

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Meanwhile, about six hours after the disruption was originally reported, Microsoft stated in an X post that

"Multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took to X to share that the company was working with CrowdStrike to deal with the global outage. He wrote,

“We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online.”

However, the exact current state of the situation is still unknown.