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What was the impact of the global IT outage

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What was the impact of the global IT outage
Getty Images A GP measuring the blood pressure of a woman in a doctor's officeGetty Images

GP services in England and Northern Ireland faced huge disruption following IT problems caused by a software update by CrowdStrike

GPs couldn’t treat patients, people were stranded as planes couldn’t get off the ground, and small businesses lost thousands in sales.

Two months on from the global IT outage on 19 July, the full impact is still only now becoming apparent.

A rogue software update by the US cybersecurity company CrowdStrike crippled up to eight and half million computers using Microsoft systems around the world.

Adam Meyers – a senior manager at CrowdStrike – will testify at the US Congress on Tuesday to explain what happened and how the company is going to prevent another disaster.

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Dr David Wrigley, a GP for the past 22 years, tells the BBC that in the most serious cases, it resulted in possible delays for cancer treatments.

“It was a very difficult period of time with very little help and support,” he said.

Dr David Wrigley

Dr David Wrigley has called on NHS England and the UK government to provide GPs with much more support if this ever happened again

For many GPs, they were unable to use the EMIS system – a digital way of managing appointment bookings and patient records, as well as sending prescriptions to pharmacies.

The BMA said the CrowdStrike outage was “one of the toughest single days in recent times for GPs across England”, with doctors forced to return to pen and paper.

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At Dr Wrigley’s practice, computer problems continued between Friday and Monday.

He said this created a backlog that delayed urgent tasks such as writing referral letters for patients with suspected cancers.

In some cases, this would have been delayed by “three or four days”.

“You have to prioritise those and send them as soon as possible,” he said.

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“All the referrals we do are done electronically – that couldn’t happen.”

British Medical Association Dr Frances O'HaganBritish Medical Association

In her 27 years as a GP, Dr Frances O’Hagan says the only disruption similar to the CrowdStrike outage was Covid and a bomb scare outside her practice in Armagh during the Troubles

Elsewhere, the BMA said there were also major problems in Northern Ireland.

Around 75% of GPs in Northern Ireland use the EMIS system according to Dr Frances O’Hagan, the chair of BMA’s Northern Ireland GP committee.

“We couldn’t do anything for most people,” she said.

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“We just had to take it on the chin and get on with it.”

She said GPs in Northern Ireland faced similar backlogs to colleagues in England, including a delay to suspected cancer referrals.

The Department of Health told the BBC it is in discussion with “external suppliers” to strengthen “continuity arrangements” following the CrowdStrike outage.

It says GPs had access to “local copies” of patient data from EMIS during the outage, and all other systems worked.

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Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, told the BBC it was “crucial” that there should be “safeguards in place” in the future.

In Surrey, 50 patients who were due to receive radiotherapy treatment on the day of the outage were forced to reschedule.

A spokesperson from NHS Royal Surrey Trust said all urgent cases were seen within 24 hours.

NHS England did not comment.

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The UK government told BBC News contingency plans were quickly enacted, and said it is working with NHS England to help prevent similar incidents.

The ‘chaos’ at the airports

EPA A group of people waiting at Eindhoven AirportEPA

These passengers at Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands were among the many travellers disrupted by the CrowdStrike outage

Melanie Cree and her husband Alan, from Bangor in Northern Ireland, were due to fly home from Corfu Airport on the day of the outage.

Travel operators were forced to cancel thousands of flights across the world – and Melanie and Alan’s flight was axed.

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After being taken to and from the airport several times in the next few days, they managed to fly home on Monday.

Melanie Cree Melanie and Alan CreeMelanie Cree

Melanie and Alan had been on a two-week holiday on the Greek island with friends to enjoy their 40th wedding anniversary

Melanie said passengers were given no food, and some ran out of medication.

“It totally ruined what should have been our dream holiday,” she said.

“We have lovely memories, but we came back absolutely shattered. It was complete chaos.”

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Their provider Tui gave them a £400 voucher.

Laura Jones Laura Jones, Malcolm Jones, and their two childrenLaura Jones

Laura Jones, pictured with her family on their holiday in Rhodes, said the whole experience has put her off foreign travel for a while

As Melanie and Alan struggled in Corfu, another UK family were caught up in the delays just over 500 miles (804km) away.

Laura and Malcolm Jones were struggling to return home after a holiday in Rhodes with their children.

When they were on the tarmac, the flight was cancelled. Laura told the BBC there was no information, no return of bags, and no plan.

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They spent 16 hours at the airport before they were taken to a conference centre, where frustrated travellers used tablecloths as blankets.

The family paid £560 out of their own pockets to fly back to the UK a few days later.

Tui has given them a £600 voucher.

“I was looking forward to travelling abroad again after Covid, but I think I might just stick going to west Wales for a few years,” Laura joked.

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In a statement, Tui apologised to its customers.

Getty Images Tired passengers at an airport in DetroitGetty Images

The CrowdStrike outage had an impact at airports around the world, with these weary passengers pictured in Detroit, Michigan

The small business owners

Back in the UK, small business owner Dawn Watts was caught up in the outages in a different way – her website, which provides supplies to cleaning companies and hotels, was out of action.

She estimates to have lost about £600 in sales.

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“It is extremely worrying,” she said.

“I am a sole trader – I can’t have this happening again.”

Dawn Watts

Dawn Watts was particularly worried by the CrowdStrike outage, as she didn’t have the support of a big company behind her.

Hannah Al-Khaldi, who runs a boutique fitness studio in London, faced similar issues with a non-functional website.

She estimates the outage cost her £1,000.

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“It showed how many systems worldwide had put their eggs in one basket,” she said.

“When one link in the chain fails, everything else goes down.

“Is there enough choice out there for providers, or was CrowdStrike the only option?”

A spokesperson from CrowdStrike told BBC News: “As we have said previously, we fully understand the gravity of the incident and apologise to everyone who was affected.

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“We’re committed to using the lessons learned to better serve our customers and prevent anything like this from happening again.”

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Telegram will provide data to authorities upon request

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Following the recent arrest and release of Telegram’s CEO in France, the platform has been introducing some changes. One of the main allegations against the service was the lack of responsiveness to data requests by authorities. From now on, Telegram will provide phone numbers and IP addresses in response to potential legal requests.

The arrest of Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov stemmed from allegations of his involvement in illegal activities on the service. The French government cited the absence of more efficient moderation systems and a lack of collaboration with the authorities as the primary reasons for the arrest. At the time, Durov said that his arrest was a mistake and an erroneous application of the law.

Telegram will provide phone numbers and IP addresses in legal request cases

Later, Telegram modified its FAQs to reflect the existence of the “Report” option in groups. This change had led many to mistakenly believe that Telegram did not have such an option. It always existed, but now the messaging app wanted to make it clear. Users are able to report individual messages or entire groups. It’s noteworthy that the option to report messages is only available in groups. Individual chats between people are entirely private and encrypted, so the option does not exist.

The new changes to Telegram are more proactive regarding moderation. In addition to providing suspects’ phone numbers and IP addresses to authorities, Telegram will use AI and a human team to remove illegal or problematic content from search results. Telegram’s CEO also asked users to report problematic results as soon as they see them.

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Anyway, the changes do not seem to affect the privacy of chats per se. There are no content moderation bots for private chats or groups. Authorities will also not have access to suspects’ chats. “To this day, we have disclosed 0 bytes of user messages to third parties, including governments,” claims Durov.

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A The Lord of the Rings Game is now due out in March 2025

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A The Lord of the Rings Game is now due out in March 2025

Tales of the Shire, a cozy life sim , has gotten a new release date and a strange new name. It’s scheduled for release on March 25, 2025 and it’s now called Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, because apparently referencing the Shire wasn’t enough to clue in fans. LOTR diehards are well known for being ignorant about the franchise they love. That was extreme sarcasm.

Anyways, this information was served up during Private Division and Wētā Workshop’s , which revealed a lot of new footage and included plenty of interviews with the game’s designers. Wētā Workshop is actually helping to develop the game, after making effects for all of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films.

Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game (that really rolls off the tongue) was supposed to come out in 2024, so the developers could iron out some bugs and present a fully realized version of their original vision. Here’s hoping that translates to a polished gameplay experience in March.

For the uninitiated, this is a cozy sim. There are elements of Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and other games in the genre. There’s farming, fishing and a deep character interaction system. Of course, there’s also a big emphasis placed on cooking huge feasts. We all know how much hobbits love a good feast.

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The game looks cute enough and, heck, I’m always down for a new cozy sim. However, the developers have confirmed that there will be no romance, despite the emphasis on cultivating relationships and friendships. The developers say that romance simply doesn’t fit the tone of the game. In any event, Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game will be released for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s also coming to Netflix.

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5 Days Left to save $600 on Disrupt 2024 tickets

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5 days left to grab rebooted ticket prices for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024

The countdown to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is on, and so are rebooted ticket prices! Save up to $600 on individual ticket types before September 27. Take advantage of these huge last-minute discounts while you still can.

Disrupt 2024 is where the startup ecosystem converges. Taking place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30, you’ll join 10,000 tech, startup, and VC leaders for 200+ powerful sessions and discussions, 250+ industry expert speakers, and valuable networking. 

Lock in your ticket savings by registering now.

Learn from industry heavyweights

With a powerful roster of top tech leaders speaking across six specialized stages, Disrupt 2024 promises three days of insightful discussions. You’ll walk away with valuable knowledge and perspectives to help fuel your next big move.

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Meet the rest of our speakers.

Networking galore

Disrupt 2024 is packed with a plethora of networking opportunities. Whether you’re a first-time founder, an experienced entrepreneur, a recent graduate seeking your first tech role, or navigating a career transition, you’ll find the connections you need.

Participate in 1:1 or small-group Braindates, attend Side Events and receptions, or explore the Expo Hall — discover numerous ways to expand your network and elevate your brand presence.

Deep-dive sessions

Engage in 200+ Roundtable and Breakout Sessions led by industry experts, designed to spark meaningful discussions on key issues facing today’s entrepreneurs and professionals.

Witness the startup battle

Don’t miss your chance to be front and center at one of Disrupt’s highlight events: Startup Battlefield 200. Watch as the hand-picked 200 pre-Series A startups pitch their innovative concepts to a panel of elite VC judges for a chance to win a $100,000 equity-free prize and the sought-after Disrupt Cup.

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Get an insider’s view as leading VCs provide expert feedback, revealing the key factors they consider when evaluating a startup’s viability.

Catch the final sale before Disrupt 2024

Don’t miss your chance to save up to $600 before the countdown to Disrupt 2024 begins! This limited-time offer expires on September 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Grab these ticket savings — click here to secure your spot!

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ExxonMobil deceived the public with plastic recycling, lawsuit claims

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ExxonMobil deceived the public with plastic recycling, lawsuit claims

ExxonMobil has misled consumers for years by perpetuating a “myth” about plastic recycling, according to a new lawsuit filed by the state of California.

ExxonMobil is the world’s leading producer of single-use plastics that become waste, according to the state attorney general’s office. To encourage people to buy products made with single-use plastics, the suit alleges, ExxonMobil “deceived Californians for almost half a century by promising that recycling could and would solve the ever-growing plastic waste crisis.”

“They clearly knew this wasn’t possible.”

Plastic is quite difficult to reuse, which is why very little of it is ever recycled. Promoting recycling as a cure-all for plastic waste can actually lead to more of it becoming trash, experts warn. Now, the state of California wants to hold industry accountable for the plastic pollution that has accumulated in the environment, animals, and even people’s bodies.

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“For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press release yesterday.

The AG’s office launched an investigation into the petrochemical industry’s role in creating a plastic “pollution crisis” in 2022. It says it unearthed new documents over the past two years that led the state to file suit this week. The lawsuit alleges that ExxonMobil has violated state public nuisance, natural resources, water pollution, false advertisement, and unfair competition laws through misleading marketing about recycling.

The state is suing for civil penalties and disgorgement, which would force the company to turn over any profits it gained illegally. California also wants to set up an abatement fund and injunctive relief to stop the company from promoting plastics as recyclable the way that it has for years. The attorney general’s office points to a 12-page ad in Time magazine in 1989 on “the urgent need to recycle” as one example of the company’s “campaign of deception.” “Americans have entered an era in which landfilling will no longer be the primary method of garbage disposal,” the ad says.

By 2015, less than 10 percent of plastic waste had ever been recycled. Nearly 80 percent of the 6,300 million metric tons of plastic waste that had been created around the world ended up in landfills or littering the environment.

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Even when plastic is rehashed, it’s typically “downcycled” because the quality of the material deteriorates with each use. Plastic bottles are turned into fibers used in carpeting instead of new plastic bottles, for example. And gadgets made with recycled plastic typically have to be reinforced with fresh plastic. It’s often just cheaper for a company to use new plastic rather than recycled materials.

Newer claims from industry about “advanced” or chemical recycling are just as flawed, the attorney general claims, since the majority of plastic waste that goes through that process becomes fuel. The state also claims that plastics produced using ExxonMobil’s “advanced recycling” technology contain such little amounts of used material that “they are effectively virgin plastics.”

ExxonMobil shifted the blame to California in an emailed response to The Verge. “For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn’t effective. They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills,” the statement says.

One of the selling points for plastic is that it’s lightweight and easy to transport — a characteristic that also makes it easier for plastics to drift into the environment. Once it’s there, it breaks down into tiny particles called microplastics that have flooded the world’s oceans and have been found in everything from seafood to baby poop. Around 21 million pounds of plastic garbage has been collected from California’s beaches and waterways since 1985, according to Bonta’s office.

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Plastics are made from fossil fuels and are responsible for 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — more than the climate pollution from global shipping.

“While greenwashing certainly isn’t new, the fossil fuel industry in particular has frequently downplayed the impacts that their sector has on climate change,” Cornell University climate and environment legal scholar Leehi Yona said in an emailed statement. “In my view, this latest lawsuit builds on the sustained efforts of many governments to hold fossil fuel companies accountable to the myriad ways they have misled the public on the risks of their products.”

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AI just made a mockery of CAPTCHA and that’s bad news for real people

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AI just made a mockery of CAPTCHA and that’s bad news for real people

Filling out CAPTCHA puzzles is tedious, but using them as (imperfect) shields against malicious bots made sense, at least until now. Artificial intelligence can now defeat those puzzles every time, according to new research from ETH Zurich. CAPTCHA, an acronym for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart,” is employed across an enormous range of websites. 

However, the tool may need renaming based on how well the AI model created by the Swiss researchers solved the security measure’s word and object identification puzzles.

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Smartphone flaw allows hackers and governments to map your home

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A man standing in modern apartment and using a smart phone
A man standing in modern apartment and using a smart phone

AI can be used to detect where you are and what you are doing from GPS data

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Hackers, app developers and even government agencies could be using your smartphone to create a map of the room you are in and determine what you are doing. The security vulnerability uses data in the GPS signal and doesn’t require access to data from the camera, microphone or accelerometer.

Soham Nag and Smruti Sarangi at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have been researching whether any information other than location could be extracted from GPS signals when Android smartphone…

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