Editing 2961: CrowdStrike

{{comic
| number    = 2961
| date      = July 19, 2024
| title     = CrowdStrike
| image     = crowdstrike_2x.png
| imagesize = 322x384px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = We were going to try swordfighting, but all my compiling is on hold.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an UNAFFECTED BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about the {{w|2024 CrowdStrike incident}} occurring on the day of the comic's release. CrowdStrike makes security software to protect computers from malware, ransomware and other cyberattacks. The software is sold to businesses and large enterprises like hospitals, airlines and retailers. CrowdStrike frequently releases updates to their software to handle new types of malware they know about. A faulty update for one of their software products, which was apparently released without adequate testing or {{w|quality assurance}}, caused computers with the software installed to crash (a {{w|Blue Screen of Death}}, given that it caused failures primarily in {{w|Microsoft Windows}} versions 10 and 11) very early on when booting up. This meant the computers could not be quickly or automatically fixed. Because many large businesses with large numbers of computers used CrowdStrike's software on at least some of their systems, or relied upon businesses that did, the resulting disruption was very widespread and very visible, preventing those businesses from operating and, in many cases, preventing their employees from working while their computers were affected. Even nominally unaffected systems (not having CrowdStrike/an afflicted version of Windows installed) could find themselves indirectly, and perhaps only partially, unusable due to relying upon other systems that were afflicted.

Apparently, Cueball and Ponytail's company, or possibly a company providing a service their work depends on, uses CrowdStrike to secure their computers (although they may just be using it as an excuse to slack off, if their colleagues don't know any better). Without being able to work, they have found something more entertaining to do -- Cueball, riding a scooter and with a rope tied around his waist, is towing Ponytail, who is kneeling on a swiveling chair, around their office or neighborhood. Performing this activity is probably a bad idea.{{cn}}

As the caption suggests, not everyone has the luxury of slacking off while their computers are broken. CrowdStrike engineers had to address the faulty update, and help the businesses using their software to fix their computers. And relevant employees at affected customers' IT departments had to work to mitigate the impacts, and to roll out the necessary fixes. In the event, CrowdStrike had released a patch for the software around six hours after it came to light, but this had to be manually applied to each affected device.

The title text refers to [[303: Compiling]], in which Cueball also found an alternative way to spend time at work when 'forced' to step away from his computer, albeit for a less disruptive reason. But, because of ''this'' problem, even the compiling is on hold. If sword fighting is 'officially allowed' only during actual compiling, as that comic implied, then during this instance (forced to be {{w|Glossary of video game terms#AFK|AFK}} for different reasons) they must resort to yet ''other'' activities, such as the one in this comic.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is pointing his finger at Ponytail and Cueball. Ponytail is crouched on a moving office chair, holding with both hands onto a rope tied around the waist of Cueball, who is riding an electric scooter.]
:White Hat: Hey, aren't you supposed to be working on the—
:Ponytail: Sorry, that's all on hold today because of the CrowdStrike thing.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Protip: As long as you're not actually in charge of '''''fixing''''' the CrowdStrike thing, you can use this excuse for pretty much anything you want to do today.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Protip]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computer security]]