Expert warns how long CrowdStrike IT outage could last after 'double whammy' failure

Chaos erupted after a Microsoft IT outage booted swathes of major brands offline - with millions still affected by the 'blue screen of death'.

Banks, ATMs, GPs, broadcasters, airlines, and train companies were all struck by the glitch, leaving Brits unable to withdraw money, book doctors appointments, or access their medical records. Huge crowds quickly started forming at train stations and airports across the UK as systems went down, inevitably followed by a slew of delays and cancellations.

Believed to be caused by a corrupt file during a Windows update installation, cyber security firm CrowdStrike say the IT meltdown has been 'identified' and dispelled rumours of a cyber attack - but how long will it take for order to be restored?

READ MORE: How can one tech issue cause chaos across the globe?

Cyber expert Simon Pardo, director of Computer Care, warns that while Microsoft services have been slowly returning online, disruption could pursue for 'weeks'.

He says the 'double whammy' failure that brought the world to its knees this morning will be 'costing businesses billions of pounds every hour'. In an interview with the Express, he added: "Two separate problems have struck at the same time, with issues hitting Microsoft's 365 services, and an update from anti-malware product Crowdstrike that is pushing computers into a blue screen of death.

"Updates should always be thoroughly tested before they are pushed out to users, and it's hard to know whether this is human error or a failure of process... Computer users will need to wait for their IT team to resolve the issue, and many people may need to work from their phone or use a pen and paper in the meantime."

CrowdStrike President George Kurtz broke his silence this