Talk about irony: The software that paralyzed Windows computers around the world late Thursday night and early Friday morning was planted by a company that protects Windows computers against malware.That company is CrowdStrike, a publicly traded cybersecurity firm based in Austin, Texas. It acknowledged the problem around 11 p.m. Thursday and started working on a solution, offering a work-around in the wee hours Friday and a fix a few hours later. The vast sea of “blue screens of death” triggered by CrowdStrike’s error is a testament to the market-leading status of the company’s software, which detects and defends against malicious code planted by hackers. Its approach is known as “endpoint security” because it installs its defenses on devices that connect to the internet, such as computers and smartphones. Advertisement According to the website 6sense.com, CrowdStrike has more than 3,500 customers, which represent about 1 out of 4 companies buying endpoint security. Although most of i...
