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T he major Microsoft IT outage on Friday that grounded flights, sent TV stations off air, and disrupted online hospital systems has been linked to a third party—a cybersecurity technology firm named CrowdStrike.
CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz has spoken out about the outage, apologizing for the disruption caused.
As the fallout from the event continues to impact people worldwide, here’s a breakdown of how exactly CrowdStrike is involved and what transpired.
Read More : How to Protect Yourself From Scams Following the CrowdStrike Microsoft IT Outage
Early Friday, companies in Australia running Microsoft’s Windows operating system started reporting devices showing, what is commonly referred to as, “ blue screens of death .” According to Microsoft’s website, this happens “if a serious problem causes Windows to shut down or restart unexpectedly.”
These disruptions then spread rapidly, impacting companies and communities around the world. The U.K., India, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S., reported disruptions. Meanwhile, United, Delta, and American Airlines issued a “ global ground stop ” on all flights.
The cause of this outage came from a faulty update from CrowdStrike, deployed to computers running Microsoft Windows. The issue was specifically linked to Falcon, one of the companies main products, which does not impact Mac or Linux operating systems.
Launched in 2012 CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software is now used by 298 of Fortune 500 companies , including banks, energy companies, healthcare companies, and food companies.
According to David Brumley, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, this was a perfect storm of issues. “Their code is buggy, and it was sitting there as a ticking time bomb,” Brumley says.
He says there are three steps cybersecurity teams should typically implement when rolling out an update. First, there should have been rigorous software testing to catch bugs; second, there should have been testing on different types of machines; and third, the roll out should have been slow with smaller sets of users to screen for negative ramifications.
“Companies like Google will roll out updates incrementally so if the update is bad, at least it will have limited damage,” says Brumley, adding that the issue may only get more pronounced.
“What we’re seeing and what we’ll continue to see is a huge consolidation in the cybersecurity department, and that’s why we're seeing so many people affected at once,” says Brumley. “We need to be asking, ‘What choices can we give people if companies mess up?’”
Appearing via a video link on The Today Show on Friday, CrowdStrike’s CEO delivered an apology to the public:
“We're deeply sorry for the impact that we've caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our companies,” Kurtz said. “That update had a software bug in it and caused an issue with the Microsoft operating system...we identified this very quickly and remediated the issue.”
Kurtz was clear that this was not a cybersecurity issue nor an attack of any kind, but an issue coming from inside the company.
Though they’ve deployed the changes necessary to help remedy the issue, customers are still having issues, and it may be some time before systems across the globe are all fully operational.
In a statement emailed to TIME, CrowdStrike said that they are “actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.”
They also clarified, once more, for those concerned that the issue is not a security incident, and that the problem has been “identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.”
Kurtz has also shared this information on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account.
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We… — George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
According to Forbes , Kurtz’s net worth had dropped $300 million as of Friday afternoon—from $3.2 billion to $2.9 billion–amid fallout from the IT outage.The CEO’s wealth is enmeshed with CrowdStrike shares, which dropped drastically following the incident.
On The Today Show segment , Kurtz said that CrowdStrike has been on the phone with customers all night, and that the issue was resolved for many when they rebooted their systems.However, he says the company will not “relent until we get every customer back to where they were and keep the bad guys out of their systems.”
If hosts are still crashing and unable to stay online to download CrowdStrike’s fix, the company has provided a workaround to the issue on its blog.
On Thursday night, Microsoft 365 posted on X that the company was “working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact” and that they were “observing a positive trend in service availability.”
As the disruption continued on Saturday, David Weston, Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security at Microsoft, published a blog post titled, “Helping our customers through the CrowdStrike outage.”
In the blog post, Weston said that Microsoft estimates “CrowdStrike’s update affected 8.5 million Windows devices, or less than one percent of all Windows machines.” Still, he goes on to say that the outage “demonstrates the interconnected nature of our broad ecosystem—global cloud providers, software platforms, security vendors and other software vendors, and customers.”
Weston also stated that Microsoft is “working around the clock” to help customers. He referenced the steps they are taking with CrowdStrike to mediate the effects of the outage, the company’s own post demonstrating manual fixes of the issue . Customers can also track the status of the incident through the “Azure Status Dashboard.”
TIME has reached out to Microsoft 365 for further comment.
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Former President Donald Trump will speak at the Republican National Convention on Thursday after he formally clinched the party’s nomination , bringing renewed attention to Project 2025, a conservative think tank’s wide-ranging blueprint for a potential second Trump term that covers everything from recruiting like-minded personnel to eliminating entire agencies—a platform assembled partly by ex-Trump staffers, though the former president has tried to distance himself.
Then-President Donald Trump gives a speech at the Heritage Foundation's President's Club Meeting on ... [+] October 17, 2017, in Washington D.C.
Project 2025, spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation with help from more than 100 other conservative groups , is a multi-part plan for the next conservative administration—namely a Trump presidency—which includes a LinkedIn-style database for presidential personnel hopefuls, training programs for executive branch positions and an as-yet-unreleased “playbook” laying out what Trump should do in his first 180 days.
Though the project is led by the Heritage Foundation and other private third-party groups and is not formally tied to Trump, who has tried to distance himself from the operation, its proposals were developed in part by former members of his administration and other Trump allies, and the ex-president has previously praised Heritage for its policy work.
The project has drawn the most attention for its “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page proposed policy agenda that describes itself as a “plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors,” laying out plans for all aspects of the executive branch.
Personnel: Project 2025 broadly proposes to insert far more political appointees who are ideologically aligned with the president into the executive branch—replacing many of the nonpartisan career civil servants who serve in it now—proposing an executive order that would put political appointees into any “confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positions” (which Trump previously did at the end of his presidency, but President Joe Biden then overturned it).
Federal Agencies: It proposes a scaled-down federal government, including the abolishment of multiple agencies—including the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—whose remaining departments would be folded into other agencies or privatized, including the Transportation Security Administration.
Transgender Rights: Transgender rights and gender identity beyond biological sex are roundly rejected, with such steps as reinstating the ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, prohibiting public school educators from referring to students by anything other than their birth name and pronouns without parental permission, and ensuring no federal funds are used to provide gender-affirming care.
DEI and LGBTQ Rights: Project 2025 seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from throughout the federal government and in universities, and while it doesn’t outlaw same-sex marriage, it supports “nuclear families” that include a “married mother, father, and their children,” and calls for restricting laws that bar discrimination on the basis of sex to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity.
Climate Change: The proposal would undo much of the federal government’s climate work, including by leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, overhauling the Department of Energy to promote oil and natural gas and deemphasize green energy sources, removing the Department of Agriculture’s focus on sustainability and curtailing climate research.
Abortion: While Project 2025 doesn’t explicitly call for an abortion ban, it would take many steps to restrict the procedure, including directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of abortion drug mifepristone, using the Comstock Act to block any abortion equipment or medication from being mailed—which abortion rights advocates have said would be a “backdoor” way to ban abortion—barring federal funds being used to provide healthcare coverage for abortion and requiring states to report all abortions that take place there to the federal government.
Education: Project 2025 emphasizes a “school choice” policy that directs public funds to be used for students to attend private or religious schools, bars “critical race theory” from being taught in federally funded schools and advocates for legislation that would allow parents to sue schools they feel have acted improperly—such as by teaching controversial subjects or requiring students to disclose information about their religious beliefs.
Student Loans: Student loan relief efforts would come to an end—including the public service loan forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans—as the proposal states “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.”
Big Tech: TikTok would be banned, and the proposal calls for reforming Section 230 —which shields tech companies and social media networks from being sued over content on their platforms—and allowing laws like those passed in Florida and Texas that seek to punish social media companies who ban or suspend users based on their “viewpoints.”
Justice Department: Project 2025 calls for a “top-to-bottom overhaul” of the DOJ and FBI that gets rid of what it calls an “unaccountable bureaucratic managerial class and radical Left ideologues,” proposing an agency that would be more focused on violent crime and filing litigation that’s “consistent with the President’s agenda” and filled with far more political appointees; it also proposes prohibiting the FBI from investigating misinformation or making “politically motivated” moves against U.S. citizens.
Taxes: Project 2025 would seek to get rid of current tax rates and most deductions and credits, instead proposing a 15% rate for anyone under the Social Security wage base ( $168,000 in 2024) and 30% for taxpayers earning more than that—which means the lowest-income taxpayers will now pay more and some higher earners will pay less, and it would also lower the corporate income tax rate to 18%.
Federal Reserve: The project seeks to reform the Federal Reserve by “tak[ing] the monetary steering wheel out of [its] hands and return[ing] it to the people,” which the authors propose could be done by getting rid of the government’s control over the nation’s money entirely—instead leaving it up to banks—or returning to the gold standard, in which the dollar’s value would be tied to a specific weight of gold.
Foreign Relations: Project 2025 emphasizes opposing China, which it describes as “a totalitarian enemy of the United States,” and directs the U.S. to pull out of international organizations when they don’t serve the administration’s interests, including the World Health Organization and various United Nations agencies.
Healthcare: Project 2025 does not seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act, but would make significant cuts to Medicaid and impose work requirements to receive coverage, as well as reform Medicare—including by making Medicare Advantage, a paid supplement to Medicare, the default option for patients.
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Trump has denied any connection to Project 2025, claiming on Truth Social last week that he has “nothing to do with them,” has “no idea” who’s behind the plan and finds some of its ideas “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” But many aren’t buying his claims: The team behind Project 2025 includes 140 people who worked for Trump in his administration, according to CNN , including six former Cabinet secretaries and four people he nominated as ambassadors. The ex-president has also seemingly endorsed the project in the past, saying at a 2022 dinner for the Heritage Foundation that the group was “going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do … when the American people give us a colossal mandate.”
Experts have warned Project 2025’s proposals could have seismic impacts on how the federal government operates if carried out. In an article for Justia , criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor John May suggested Project 2025’s language endorsing the executive branch being able to “restrain the excesses” of the judicial branch and Congress means “if the President wants to, the President can defy any decision of the Supreme Court, any legislation by Congress, maybe even the act of impeachment and removal from office.”
The main team behind Project 2025 includes Heritage Foundation director Paul Gans and former Trump White House personnel leaders Spencer Chretien (who also served as Trump’s special assistant) and Troup Hemenway, according to the project’s website. Other groups listed as participating in the project include ex-Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty University, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Turning Point USA. The 900-page policy agenda was co-authored by a series of conservative figures, with chapters penned by such Trump allies as former Housing Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, former HHS Civil Rights Director Roger Severino and former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who went to prison in March for contempt of Congress.
Trump will not be under any obligation to follow Project 2025’s proposals if he wins the presidency, though history suggests he’ll listen to at least some of them. The Heritage Foundation made a similar policy proposal for Trump ahead of his presidency in 2016, and boasted two years into his tenure that Trump had already followed 64% of its recommendations, CBS News notes .
One area that Project 2025 doesn’t touch on is Social Security benefits and any potential cuts to the program, even as proposals outline changes to numerous other government “entitlements.” Changing Social Security and making cuts to its spending has been a priority for the GOP for decades, though the American public has long opposed slashing benefits. Republicans’ efforts have waned under Trump, however, and the ex-president publicly claimed in March he “will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” after he came under fire for suggesting otherwise in an interview with CNBC.
While much of Project 2025’s policy agenda concerns federal agencies, the proposal has also gotten attention for its call to outlaw all pornography, which it claims is tied to “the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children” and is not protected under the First Amendment. Project 2025 calls not only for pornography to be made illegal, but also for anyone involved with its production and distribution to be imprisoned, for any librarians or educators who “purvey it” to be registered as sex offenders and for telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its distribution to be shut down.
The Heritage Foundation’s practice of laying out a policy roadmap for a future Republican administration actually dates back to the Reagan era, founder Edwin J. Feulner noted in the afterword of the 2025 edition. The organization first laid out a blueprint in 1981 that President Ronald Reagan ultimately adopted, fulfilling half of its recommendations by the end of his first year in office. The Heritage Foundation has continued to come out with blueprints for potential conservative presidents each election since, it notes, and its 2025 Mandate for Leadership was published in 2023. While it came out last year, Project 2025 gained new attention in the past week since Trump disavowed it—sparking a wave of reports highlighting his ties to the figures behind the project that debunk his claims. Democrats have also used the controversial proposal as a key talking point and argument for why the left should unite behind President Joe Biden and focus on defeating Trump, particularly as Biden’s candidacy has come under widespread scrutiny in the wake of the president’s poor debate performance in June.
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Here are some of the components of an effective business plan. 1. Executive Summary. One of the key elements of a business plan is the executive summary. Write the executive summary as part of the concluding topics in the business plan. Creating an executive summary with all the facts and information available is easier.
A summary of your financial plan including cost and sales projections and a break-even analysis. A summary of your management team, their roles, and the relevant experience that they have to serve in those roles. Your "ask", if applicable, meaning what you're requesting from the investor or lender.
4. Marketing plan. The marketing plan section details how you plan to attract and retain customers. It covers the marketing mix: product, price, place, and promotion. It shows you understand your market and have clear, measurable goals to guide your marketing strategy.
That's where your business plan comes in. It provides investors, lenders and potential partners with an understanding of your company's structure and goals. If you want to gain the financial autonomy to run a business or become an entrepreneur, a financial advisor can help align your finances. 1. Executive Summary.
Nothing should be included that isn't going to be used. 10. Geared for change. A good business plan is the opposite of written in stone. It's going to change in a few weeks. List assumptions because reviewing assumptions is the best way to determine when to change the plan and when to stick with it. 11.
Innovation in Planning: The Untold Ingredient to Business Success. In the turbulent landscape of entrepreneurship, where over 20% of small ventures falter in their early days, this blog post sheds light on the importance of a well-structured business plan.. It delves into the specifics of an executive summary, steps, what to include, and innovation in business planning, guiding businesses to ...
Effective business plans contain several key components that cover various aspects of a company's goals. The most important parts of a business plan include: 1. Executive summary. The executive summary is the first and one of the most critical parts of a business plan. This summary provides an overview of the business plan as a whole and ...
1. Create Your Executive Summary. The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans. Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.
13 Key Business Plan Components. We've built a comprehensive guide to the major parts of a business plan for you. From elements like the executive summary to product descriptions, traction, and financials, we'll guide you on all of the key sections you should include in your business plan. December 14th, 2022 | By: The Startups Team | Tags ...
This section is one of the key components of a business plan, demonstrating your understanding of the market and detailing your strategy for capturing and growing your market share. Key elements to include in the Marketing and Sales Strategy section: Market Positioning: Describe how you intend to position your business within the market.
Ten Components of a Business Plan: 1. Executive Summary: The executive summary serves as the gateway to the business plan, offering an initial handshake between the business and stakeholders. It goes beyond a mere introduction; it functions as a strategically crafted teaser, encapsulating the essence of the business in a concise narrative.
Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan: Section 1: Executive Summary. Present the company's mission. Describe the company's product and/or service offerings. Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
2. Feasibility Business Plan. This type of business plan focuses on a single essential aspect of the business — the product or service. It may be part of a startup business plan or a standalone plan for an existing organization. This comprehensive plan may include: A detailed product description. Market analysis. Technology needs. Production ...
Here are the 9 essential components of a business plan. 1. Executive Summary. Your executive summary is going to be at the front of your plan and be one of the first things that someone reads. But, writing the executive summary should be the last thing that you do, even though it's first on the list.
Business Plan: A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a ...
10 Important Business Plan Components. Let's now understand the key components that make a sound business plan. 1. Executive summary. The executive summary is one of the most important parts of a business plan. It's the first thing potential investors will read and should therefore provide a clear overview of your business and its goals.
A Harvard Business Review study found that the ideal time to write a business plan is between 6 and 12 months after deciding to start a business. But the reality can be more nuanced - it depends on the stage a business is in, or the type of business plan being written. Ideal times to write a business plan include: When you have an idea for a ...
There are seven major components of a business plan, and each one is a complex document. ... the whole team needs to know what their role is within the company and how each interrelates with every ...
6. Marketing and Sales Strategy: Plan for promoting and selling the products or services, including pricing, distribution channels, advertising, and sales tactics. 7. Funding Request: Details about the funding needed to start or grow the business, including how the funds will be used and the potential return on investment for investors. 8.
Traditional business plan. The traditional (or standard) business plan is an in-depth document covering every aspect of your business. It's the most common plan type you'll come across. A traditional business plan is broken up into 10 sections: Executive summary; Description of products and services; Market analysis; Competitive analysis
Here is a guide to help you get started on your business plan: 1. Executive Summary. What It Is: This section summarizes your business plan as a whole and outlines your company profile and goals.
A business plan is a written document that outlines a company's goals, strategies and expectations for the future. It provides a clear roadmap for achieving business goals and objectives. It is an essential tool for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to start a new business or grow an existing one. The components of a business plan ...
The solution supports efficient and sustainable farming operations with capabilities that help to automate farming decisions and operations using data, enables the provision of individualized agronomic advice, farm services and product recommendations, and helps companies to establish digital farming services and solutions.. Supported business areas for efficient and sustainable farming:
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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about the role of technology in business and society. The 60 th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery civil rights ...
According to Forbes, Kurtz's net worth had dropped $300 million as of Friday afternoon—from $3.2 billion to $2.9 billion-amid fallout from the IT outage.The CEO's wealth is enmeshed with ...
Project 2025, spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation with help from more than 100 other conservative groups, is a multi-part plan for the next conservative administration—namely a Trump ...