On July 19, CrowdStrike – one of the leading cybersecurity companies in the world – deployed a scheduled software update that didn't run as smoothly as intended. Instead of the update allowing customers to use the company's software without change, a major bug caused entire systems to crash, causing havoc to erupt all around the world.
Airports, hospitals, banks, and even live and online poker venues had to stop operations for many hours before the issue could be fixed. What happened? And how was the poker world affected by the sudden technological difficulties?
What is CrowdStrike?
In the center of all the latest drama is CrowdStrike, a software company that specializes in endpoint protection and threat intelligence. Essentially, major companies use CrowdStrike's services to prevent all types of attacks on their systems.
Amongst its clients are Amazon and Home Depot, alongside various banks, pharmacies, hospitals, and even airports. According to reports, CrowdStrike is being used in 50 countries, with more than 1.6k companies using its services in the US alone.
How CrowdStrike's Bug Affected the World
On the day of the big software crash, about 8.5 million machines all around the world were affected by the faulty software update. While that doesn't sound like all that much, the true impact of the issue was much more serious than predicted.
A defective software update brought down the online systems of many businesses that use Microsoft services. At first, many believed that the global IT crash was in fact a cyber-attack, but CrowdStrike quickly took responsibility for their mistake and began working on a solution.
While the company tried to fix the issue, due to the nature of the problem, each of the affected devices had to be rebooted and fixed separately, which took a lot of time. That meant that thousands of people were stranded at airports around the globe, hundreds of people didn't get the medicine they needed, and many surgeries in hospitals were postponed.
Amongst the affected companies were a few leading gambling venues, both live and online. One land-based casino in Las Vegas, for example, had to pay out gamblers by hand, as their slot machines crashed. Some casinos decided to close their doors until the issue was resolved, while others – while still affected by the issue – managed to overcome the unexpected obstacle and remain open.
Multiple online poker venues also had to temporarily shut down, leaving players unable to enjoy the games they love for a while. Fortunately, most websites managed to go back online within 24 hours, which didn't cause too much chaos in the poker community.
Stay Safe & Keep Playing!
In light of recent events, how can you protect yourself from possible cyber attacks when playing poker online?
- Keep your poker account separate from your bank account – use an e-wallet or a special bank account to link to your poker profile. That way, even if the unimaginable happens and your banking info gets leaked, you won't be that affected by it.
- Use strong passwords – make it harder for hackers to access your accounts by using the strongest passwords possible. Spoiler: don't use your birthday or your pet's name!
- Choose an online venue you trust – there are plenty of fraudsters out there, and not all online poker rooms are legitimate. Make sure the website you choose - Everygame Poker - is being regulated by the authorities and it has good reviews. Then - and only then - you can start playing!