By Quinn O’Hara

Photo by Quinn O’Hara

A glitch in a software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused global IT outages early on the morning of Friday, July 19.

The software update impacted Microsoft Windows computers and caused them to crash and display a blue error screen. The glitch has canceled flights worldwide, impacted banks and hospitals, and has now caused issues with the Kansas Department of Revenue. Clay County Treasurer Christine Swaim said the outage has eliminated their ability to process motor vehicle transactions and more.

The Clay County Treasurer’s Office said they are unclear on how the outage will impact new vehicle registration or vehicle registration renewal. Swaim noted that the Clay County Treasurer’s Office can still process local property tax payments.

Clay County Sheriff Alan Benninga said that the Sheriff’s Department will temporarily cease ticketing vehicles for expired temporary tags until the issue is resolved. Benninga said that if the issue persists into August, he and other officials will then decide how to handle tags which expired in July of 2024.

In a post on X, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by the software update. He noted that the glitch is not a security incident or cyberattack. In an interview with NBC News’ “Today” Kurtz said, “many of the customers are rebooting the system and it’s coming up and it’ll be operational.” Kurtz added that, “it could be some time for some systems that won’t automatically recover.”