Ensuring Stability: CLUE’s QA Process Amidst the CrowdStrike Incident
At Clue, we place the highest value on the stability of our software for our managed services. Our commitment is reflected in our rigorous, multi-stage internal quality assurance (QA) process. Following a General Availability (GA) release by a software vendor, we validate each vendor’s software in a comprehensive QA process, even if the vendors assure us that they have already tested it. Only once it has met our stringent criteria is the software released to our customers. This ensures that potential bugs are identified and fixed before deployment, ensuring unrivaled stability and reliability. Our commitment to this process illustrates why CLUE stands firmly behind its QA protocols and ensures the greatest possible stability for our customers’ infrastructure.
Overview of the CrowdStrike incident
On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike released a configuration update for its Falcon sensor on Windows systems. This update caused a logic error that led to system crashes and so-called Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) for the affected users.
The consequence: worldwide chaos. The affected areas include a large part of air traffic as well as providers of banking and healthcare services.
The manufacturer released an improved version shortly after the incident and announced that it was not a cyber attack. However, fixing the problem often requires manually deleting a file after starting in safe mode.
CLUE Systems and Managed Services Were not Affected
It is important to note that CLUE’s systems and security services were not affected by this incident. The issue was limited to CrowdStrike’s software, which is not used in CLUE’s infrastructure and services. Therefore, there was no impact on CLUE’s operations or security.
The Importance of Software Testing and CLUE’s Additional QA Process
This incident underscores the critical importance of rigorous software testing. Even routine updates can cause significant problems if they are not properly tested. To ensure the highest level of stability for our managed services, CLUE employs a multi-stage internal quality assurance (QA) process. Following a General Availability (GA) release by the software supplier, each vendor’s software is first validated through this multi-stage process. Only after successful testing is the software released to our Managed Services customers.
It is worth noting that in this particular case of CrowdStrike, even our QA processes would not have prevented the incident as it was triggered by a configuration update that occurs several times a day. Nevertheless, we would like to use this case to illustrate why CLUE stands so strongly behind its established QA processes. Comprehensive testing protocols help identify potential bugs before they reach the end user and ensure stability and reliability in software delivery.
Our customers deserve the highest possible stability for their infrastructure. For this reason, CLUE tests its suppliers’ software a second time before it is released to customers, even if it has already been tested by the manufacturers.
We hope that all affected infrastructure managers have already been able to resolve the issue.
