Global tech outage impacting North American transit information and ticketing systems

[marmar]

Transportation providers, businesses, banks and their customers work up to the worst kind of fire drill Friday morning: A global tech outage had knocked critical systems offline. What has already been deemed the largest IT outage in history isn’t the result of a cyberattack, but a faulty update. The outage impacted Windows 10 and later systems and did not impact Mac and Linux hosts.

CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides antivirus protection for Microsoft Windows and other clients, said the error was due to an update related to its Falcon Sensor.

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Transit impacts

North American transit agencies have not experienced widespread service disruptions due to the outage. However, information systems and ticketing systems have been disrupted. Some transit providers are also reporting paratransit and/or flex trips that are reserved via a mobile app or by calling for a reservation could see delays.

Below is a snapshot of various impacts:

* Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority issued a tweet saying its website, Breeze card website and real-time service information was not available. However, bus rail and streetcar services are operating.

* Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority warned customers of potential delays during the early morning, but as of 5:45 a.m. EDT the authority said all Metrorail and buses are operating as scheduled. The authority restored its website and trip planning applications as of 9:30 a.m. EDT and noted Metro Access continues to experience minor delays.

* New Jersey Transit ticket vending machines (TVMs) “may be affected” by the global tech outage. The agency says customers impacted by this issue will not be denied travel until the TVMs are operational.

* Metropolitan Transportation Authority says some of its customer information systems were knocked offline due to the outage and are being restored. The authority notes service is not impacted but arrival times and elevator status may be inaccurate and encouraged customers to listen for announcements.

* Nassau Inter-County Express says some customers are experiencing malfunctions with its GoMobile app and advised its tech team was working on the issue.

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https://www.masstransitmag.com/technology/article/55127248/global-tech-outage-impacting-transit-information-and-ticketing-systems