Effects of global computer outages felt across Wisconsin

The effects of an internet outage are being felt across Wisconsin after an update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused a global tech meltdown.

Some Wisconsin state agencies use CrowdStrike software, which left some state employees locked out of their workstations on Friday, a spokesperson for Wisconsin’s Department of Administration wrote in an email.

“DOA has had a team working on this since before 2:00 a.m. this morning to apply manual workarounds while CrowdStrike is working on their end to also complete a fix,” the Friday morning email said. “Agencies are being asked to work through their IT channels as each agency is uniquely impacted.”

And some public-facing government services took a hit, as well.

Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection operates a hotline for consumer complaints, and, as of early Friday, some of those consumer protection services had been disrupted.

“Not every request was able to be fully completed if a consumer called with a request to check on the complaint status for a business,” a DATCP spokesperson wrote in an email.

The database was back in operation by 9:45 a.m. and every person who made such a request between 7:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. has since received a call back, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Department of Motor Vehicle offices continued to provide road tests across Wisconsin. But other DMV services may have been halted while employees were locked out of their workstations, the DOA spokesperson said.

Wisconsin’s court filing system remained online

Wisconsin’s statewide system for filing and searching case materials was not affected by the outage, a spokesperson said.

Some public attorneys were affected in other ways, however.

An internal case management system used by Wisconsin’s public defenders was back online by mid-morning after going down early Friday. Public defenders use that system for administrative tasks, including tracking case loads and overseeing client accounts, said Adam Plotkin, a legislative liaison for the State Public Defender’s office.

Some public defenders weren’t able to use their work computers as of midday Friday, if those devices were connected to their network when the outage struck, Plotkin said.

“It appears computers that were on and connected to the network all have the blue screen of death,” Plotkin said Friday morning. “If it was off or not connected to the network, it seems to be fine.”

Nonetheless, Plotkin said employees were able to find workarounds by using their smartphones and other devices.

Local governments, businesses feel the sting

CrowdStrike has attributed the gloal tech outage to a glitch in what was supposed to be a routine security update to devices running on Microsoft Windows. Mac and Linux operating systems were not affected.

CrowdStrike’s CEO said Friday that the firm is working to solve the problem, and emphasized that the incident was not caused by a cyberattack or security breach.

IT hold-ups caused by the glitch have caused chaos across multiple sectors. Some airlines grounded their flights, leading to travel delays.

And in Wisconsin and across the globe, local governments, businesses and nonprofits have been forced to adapt.

In a statement, the city of Madison said the incident affected city servers, but did not cause any “major damage or security breaches.”

“Residents may experience some minor disruptions in city services and communications as a result of the incident,” according to the city’s statement, which said IT staff had been working since early Friday on solutions.

Health systems across Wisconsin also warned their patients about potential disruptions. Among them was the Marshfield Clinic Health System, which operates in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Penninsula.

“Our clinics and hospitals in Wisconsin and Michigan remain open, but some services may be slowed as we navigate the effects of the outage,” a statement from the Marshfield Clinic Health System said. “Patients will be contacted if there is a change to their appointment.