Malaysia’s digital minister, Gobind Singh Deo, has asked Microsoft and CrowdStrike to consider compensating companies that suffered losses during last week’s global tech outage, Reuters reported.
The outage, caused by a faulty CrowdStrike software update, affected computers powered by Microsoft’s Windows operating system, disrupting internet services worldwide. In Malaysia, five government agencies and nine companies in aviation, banking and healthcare were affected.
Minister Deo, who met with representatives from Microsoft and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, has requested a detailed report on the incident and urged the companies to take preventive measures to avoid future outages.
He announced that he has also requested the companies to consider compensation claims from parties who have suffered damages or losses due to the recent global tech outage. However, the full extent of the losses has yet to be determined.
Tony Fernandes, CEO of Malaysia’s Capital A, which operates budget airline AirAsia, also called for compensation, stating companies deserved reimbursement for losses incurred due to the tech failure.
The global outage affected airports, pharmacies, banks, payment systems and train services, causing significant inconvenience to many. Even a terminal cancer patient’s brain surgery was delayed.
Microsoft and CrowdStrike collaborated to resolve the issue, releasing a recovery tool and providing guidance for affected customers. The recovery tool offered two options – “Recover from WinPE” and “Recover from safe mode”, to help customers restore their systems.
Airports have advised passengers to continue checking for potential disruptions before travelling. Although systems are now back online, some journeys may still be impacted by delays and cancellations. Major airlines, including Ryanair, British Airways and EasyJet, were affected, with some flights cancelled due to software issues.
