Local cybersecurity expert explains what caused global tech outage [Video]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Inside a computer lab at Lipscomb University’s School of Computing, Dr. Steve Nordstrom is already thinking of how to incorporate today’s historic tech outage into a lecture.

A faulty software update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike on Friday caused a global tech meltdown, cancelling thousands of flights and disrupting business at hospitals, banks and retailers nationwide.

“In this kind of situation, it really is the worst case scenario for a company like this to have this number of installs go bad this quickly,” Nordstrom said. “So when their cyber security software develops a problem, a lot of people are going to have that problem.”

The software issue only affected CrowdStrike customers who use Microsoft Windows, and made it unable for computers to boot up safely, Nordstrom explained. While CrowdStrike has announced a repair, Nordstrom believes it will take some time for things to return to normal, because …