Science & Technology – Winnipeg Free Press

Danielle Tuttle tries the door to a department of motor vehicles location to find it locked and the location closed due to an outage Friday, July 19, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Small businesses grapple with global tech outages created by CrowdStrike

Anne D'innocenzio And Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press 7 minute read Yesterday at 11:17 AM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — An owner of a consumer insights research firm couldn't pay her employees, make Friday's deadline to sign a contract for a new business or send key research to a key client. A psychiatrist, who runs a virtual mental health practice in Maryland, saw his business hobbled as some of his virtual assistants and therapists couldn't either make phone calls or log on to their computers. And a restaurant owner in New York City was worried about how he was going to pay his vendors and his workers.

Businesses from airlines to hospitals have been grappling with a faulty software update that caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday, and its repercussions continued through the weekend. The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on a few providers for key computing services.

But the problem appeared to divide those affected into haves and have-nots. Major customers of Microsoft and CrowdStrike are getting IT support to resolve the issues, but many smaller businesses whose Windows PCs may have received the problematic update are still struggling.

Take Tsvetta Kaleynska, owner and founder of the Manhattan-based consumer insights company RILA Global Consulting, which has Fortune 500 clients. As of Saturday, she resolved the payroll issue and she got an extension until Monday on the research project. But the prospective client will not move forward with the new contract, cutting her annual earnings by nearly 25%, she estimated. The problem: she couldn't sign the contract because Docusign, which runs on Microsoft software affected by the faulty update, was down.

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Olympic marketing deal hopes to meet young fans where they are – on Roblox

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Olympic marketing deal hopes to meet young fans where they are – on Roblox

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 2 minute read 8:13 AM CDT

The Olympic world's ever-expanding quest to draw in young fans is meeting them where they are — on Roblox.

The U.S. Olympic team and NBC are collaborating with the kid- and teen-friendly gaming platform to produce a new “Obby” — that's Roblox for obstacle course — and other features that include ways to interact with U.S. athletes while also checking out highlights from the Paris Games and making visits to a virtual Team USA House called “The Vibe House.”

This new Roblox feature debuting Monday includes animated versions of 20 U.S. Olympians, including a surfer, a skateboarder and two break dancers — all of whom represent sports that have been added recently to the Olympic program in hopes of driving young fans to the games.

“My sister-in-law said my nieces are going to be more excited about me being in Roblox than me being in the Olympics,” said one of the breakers, 35-year-old Sunny Choi.

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8:13 AM CDT

FILE - Victor Montalvo, also known as B-Boy Victor, of the United States, competes in the B-boy Red Bull BC One World Final at Hammerstein Ballroom, Nov. 12, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

Delta Air Lines says cancellations continue as it tries to restore operations after tech outage

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Delta Air Lines says cancellations continue as it tries to restore operations after tech outage

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:45 PM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Airlines, including Delta Air Lines, continued to struggle to restore operations two days after a faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide and resulted in several carriers grounding flights.

Total cancellations within, into or out of the U.S. on Sunday clocked in at 1,461, according to the latest data from FlightAware. Delta and United Airlines topped the cancellations.

Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in a message to customers Sunday that flight cancellations continued as the airline tried to recover its systems and restore operations. He noted that the pause in Delta’s operations resulted in more than 3,500 Delta and Delta Connection scrubbed flights. Delta has been offering waivers to affected customers.

Bastian noted that that one of their crew tracking-related tools was affected and unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system outage.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:45 PM CDT

A traveller looks up while talking on a cellphone as passengers wait in line for assistance at the Delta Terminal, Friday, July 19, 2024, at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

AI industry is influencing the world. Mozilla adviser Abeba Birhane is challenging its core values

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

AI industry is influencing the world. Mozilla adviser Abeba Birhane is challenging its core values

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 4 minute read 10:51 AM CDT

“Scaling up" is a catchphrase in the artificial intelligence industry as tech companies rush to improve their AI systems with ever-bigger sets of internet data.

It's also a red flag for Mozilla's Abeba Birhane, an AI expert who for years has challenged the values and practices of her field and the influence it's having on the world.

Her latest research finds that scaling up on online data used to train popular AI image-generator tools is disproportionately resulting in racist outputs, especially against Black men.

Birhane is a senior adviser in AI accountability at the Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit parent organization of the free software company that runs the Firefox web browser. Raised in Ethiopia and living in Ireland, she's also an adjunct assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin.

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10:51 AM CDT

Meet some of the world’s cleanest pigs, raised to grow kidneys and hearts for humans

Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Meet some of the world’s cleanest pigs, raised to grow kidneys and hearts for humans

Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:08 AM CDT

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Wide-eyed piglets rushing to check out the visitors to their unusual barn just might represent the future of organ transplantation – and there’s no rolling around in the mud here.

The first gene-edited pig organs ever transplanted into people came from animals born on this special research farm in the Blue Ridge mountains – behind locked gates, where entry requires washing down your vehicle, swapping your clothes for medical scrubs and stepping into tubs of disinfectant to clean your boots between each air-conditioned barn.

“These are precious animals,” said David Ayares of Revivicor Inc., who spent decades learning to clone pigs with just the right genetic changes to allow those first audacious experiments.

The biosecurity gets even tighter just a few miles away in Christiansburg, Virginia, where a new herd is being raised – pigs expected to supply organs for formal studies of animal-to-human transplantation as soon as next year.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:08 AM CDT

PIgs stand in pens at the Revivicor research farm near Blacksburg, Va., on May 29, 2024, where organs are retrieved for animal-to-human transplant experiments. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Pig transplant research yields a surprise: Bacon safe for some people allergic to red meat

Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Pig transplant research yields a surprise: Bacon safe for some people allergic to red meat

Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:09 AM CDT

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Some people who develop a weird and terrifying allergy to red meat after a bite from a lone star tick can still eat pork from a surprising source: Genetically modified pigs created for organ transplant research.

Don't look for it in grocery stores. The company that bred these special pigs shares its small supply, for free, with allergy patients.

“We get hundreds and hundreds of orders,” said David Ayares, who heads Revivicor Inc., as he opened a freezer jammed with packages of ground pork patties, ham, ribs and pork chops.

The allergy is called alpha-gal syndrome, named for a sugar that's present in the tissues of nearly all mammals - except for people and some of our primate cousins. It can cause a serious reaction hours after eating beef, pork or any other red meat, or certain mammalian products such as milk or gelatin.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:09 AM CDT

David Ayares, president and chief scientific officer of Revivicor, holds a package of frozen meat during an interview at the company’s offices in Blacksburg, Va., on May 30, 2024. His company genetically modified pigs, known as GalSafe pigs, so they no longer carry a sugar responsible for alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

What to know about the Kids Online Safety Act and its chances of passing

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

What to know about the Kids Online Safety Act and its chances of passing

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Yesterday at 6:11 AM CDT

The last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the internet was in 1998 — before Facebook, before the iPhone and long before today's oldest teenagers were born. Now, a bill aiming to protect kids from the harms of social media, gaming sites and other online platforms appears to have enough bipartisan support to pass, though whether it actually will remains uncertain.

Supporters, however, hope it will come to a vote later this month.

Proponents of the Kids Online Safety Act include parents' groups and children's advocacy organizations as well as companies like Microsoft, X and Snap. They say the bill is a necessary first step in regulating tech companies and requiring them to protect children from dangerous online content and take responsibility for the harm their platforms can cause.

Opponents, however, fear KOSA would violate the First Amendment and harm vulnerable kids who wouldn't be able to access information on LGBTQ issues or reproductive rights — although the bill has been revised to address many of those concerns, and major LGBTQ groups have decided to support of the proposed legislation.

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Yesterday at 6:11 AM CDT

FILE - Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, Jan. 24, 2023. Blackburn and Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill aiming to protect kids from the harms of social media, gaming sites and other online platforms. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

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California officials say largest trial court in US victim of ransomware attack

The Associated Press 1 minute read Saturday, Jul. 20, 2024

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A ransomware attack has shut down the computer system of the largest trial court in the country, officials with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County said.

The cybersecurity attack began early Friday and is not believed to be related to the faulty CrowdStrike software update that has disrupted airlines, hospitals and governments around the world, officials said in a statement Friday.

The court disabled its computer network systems upon discovery of the attack, and it will remain down through at least the weekend. A preliminary investigation shows no evidence that users' data was compromised, according to the statement.

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the largest unified superior court in the United States, serving the county's 10 million residents over 36 courthouses. Nearly 1.2 million cases were filed and 2,200 jury trials were conducted in 2022.

Malicious actors trying to exploit global tech outage for their own gain

David Koenig And Jill Lawless, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Malicious actors trying to exploit global tech outage for their own gain

David Koenig And Jill Lawless, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, Jul. 20, 2024

As the world continues to recover from massive business and travel disruptions caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, malicious actors are trying to exploit the situation for their own gain.

Government cybersecurity agencies across the globe and CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz are warning businesses and individuals about new phishing schemes that involve malicious actors posing as CrowdStrike employees or other tech specialists offering to assist those recovering from the outage.

“We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this,” Kurtz said in a statement. “I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you’re engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives.”

The UK Cyber Security Center said they have noticed an increase in phishing attempts around this event.

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Saturday, Jul. 20, 2024

Retired IT Technician William Taylor lines up to purchase a four-day train ride ticket to Jackson, Mississippi, at Union Station in Los Angeles, Friday, July 19, 2024, as a widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets, and companies worldwide. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Tech outage latest | Airlines and others rush to get back on track after global tech disruption

The Associated Press 8 minute read Preview

Tech outage latest | Airlines and others rush to get back on track after global tech disruption

The Associated Press 8 minute read Saturday, Jul. 20, 2024

Transport providers, businesses and governments on Saturday are rushing to get all their systems back online after long disruptions following a widespread technology outage.

The biggest continuing effect has been on air travel. Carriers canceled thousands of flights on Friday and now have many of their planes and crews in the wrong place, while airports facing continued problems with checking in and security.

At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of companies worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

Here's the Latest:

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Saturday, Jul. 20, 2024

A technician works on an information display near United Airlines gates at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Friday, July 19, 2024, after a faulty CrowdStrike update caused a major internet outage for computers running Microsoft Windows. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tech outage halts surgeries, medical treatments across the US

Martha Bellisle And Devi Shastri, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Tech outage halts surgeries, medical treatments across the US

Martha Bellisle And Devi Shastri, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Alison Baulos says her 73-year-old father was about to head to a Kentucky hospital for open-heart surgery when it was abruptly canceled early Friday morning. His was one of the many operations and medical treatments halted across the country because of a global technology outage.

“It does really make you just realize how much we rely on technology and how scary it is,” Baulos said from her home in Chicago.

The major internet outage disrupted flights, banks and businesses, as well as medical centers, around the world. The outage was caused by a faulty software update issued by a cybersecurity firm that affected its customers running Microsoft Windows.

The American Hospital Association said the impact varied widely: Some hospitals were not affected while others had to delay, divert or cancel care.

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Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

This photo provided by the family in 2024 shows Gary Baulos, left, with his daughter, Alison, and her daughter, Athena, at the Art Institute of Chicago. Alison Baulos says her 73-year-old father was about to head to a Kentucky hospital for open-heart surgery when it was abruptly canceled Friday morning, July 19, 2024. His was one of the many operations and medical treatments halted across the country Friday because of a global technology outage. (Courtesy Alison Baulos via AP)

Nigeria fines Meta $220 million for violating data protection and consumer rights laws

Chinedu Asadu, The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government on Friday announced a fine of $220 million on Meta, saying its investigations found “multiple and repeated” violations of the country’s data protection and consumer rights laws on Facebook and WhatsApp. A statement from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, or FCCPC, listed five ways that Meta violated data laws in the West African country, including by sharing the data of Nigerians without authorization, denying consumers the right to self-determine the use of their data, discriminatory practices as well as abuse of market dominance. “Being satisfied with the significant evidence on the record, […]

Your flight was canceled by the technology outage. What do you do next?

David Koenig, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Your flight was canceled by the technology outage. What do you do next?

David Koenig, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Air travelers became the face of the widespread technology outage Friday as they posted pictures on social media of crowds of people stranded at airports in Europe and the United States.

In the U.S., American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air had all their flights grounded for varying lengths of time. Airlines said the outage affected many systems, including those used to check in passengers, calculate aircraft weight and communicate with crews in the air. United, American and Delta issued waivers to let customers change travel plans.

By early evening on the East Coast, nearly 2,800 U.S. flights had been canceled and almost 10,000 others delayed, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Worldwide, about 4,400 flights were canceled.

Delta and its regional affiliates had canceled 1,300 flights, or more than one-fourth of their schedule, according to aviation-data firm Cirium. United and United Express canceled more than 550 flights, 13% of their schedule, and American Airlines’ network canceled more than 450 flights, 8% of its schedule.

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Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Customers wait in line at a departure area for Spirit Airlines at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday, July 19, 2024, after a faulty CrowdStrike update caused a major internet outage for computers running Microsoft Windows. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Member of eBay security team sentenced in harassment scheme involving bloody Halloween pig mask

Steve Leblanc, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Member of eBay security team sentenced in harassment scheme involving bloody Halloween pig mask

Steve Leblanc, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

BOSTON (AP) — The former senior manager of special operations for eBay Inc.’s. global security team was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Boston for his role in a cyberstalking campaign that included sending a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask and a book on surviving the loss of a spouse to a Massachusetts couple's home.

Brian Gilbert, 56, of San Jose, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William Young to time served, one year of supervised release provided that he has no contact with either of the victims, and a $20,000 fine.

In October 2020, Gilbert pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.

Gilbert and others targeted David and Ina Steiner, investigators said. The couple produced an online newsletter called EcommerceBytes that upset eBay executives with its coverage.

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Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

FILE - An eBay app is shown on a mobile phone, July 11, 2019, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Risk-averse organizations chose CrowdStrike for cybersecurity. Now its software is causing chaos

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Risk-averse organizations chose CrowdStrike for cybersecurity. Now its software is causing chaos

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Airlines, banks, hospitals and other risk-averse organizations around the world chose cybersecurity company CrowdStrike to protect their computer systems from hackers and data breaches.

But all it took was one faulty CrowdStrike software update to cause global disruptions Friday that grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, retailers and other services.

“This is a function of the very homogenous technology that goes into the backbone of all of our IT infrastructure,” said Gregory Falco, an assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University. “What really causes this mess is that we rely on very few companies, and everybody uses the same folks, so everyone goes down at the same time.”

The trouble with the update issued by CrowdStrike and affecting computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system was not a hacking incident or cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way.

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Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Delayed flight schedules are displayed on a screen at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday, July 19, 2024, after a faulty CrowdStrike update caused a major internet outage for computers running Microsoft Windows. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Moon fests, moon movie and even a full moon mark 55th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Moon fests, moon movie and even a full moon mark 55th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The cosmos is providing a full moon for the 55th anniversary of the first lunar landing this weekend, and plenty of other events honor Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s giant leap.

Aldrin, 94, the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 crew, headlines a gala at the San Diego Air and Space Museum on Saturday night. He'll be joined by astronaut Charlie Duke, who was the voice inside Mission Control for the July 20, 1969 moon landing.

Museum President Jim Kidrick couldn’t resist throwing a bash “55 years to the day of one of the most historic moments in not only the history of America, but in the history of the world.”

Can’t make it to San Diego, Cape Canaveral or Houston? There are plenty of other ways to celebrate the moon landing, including the new film “Fly Me to the Moon,” a light-hearted lookback starring Scarlett Johansson.

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Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

July 22, 2024

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