Global IT Outage Leads to Potential Delays in Canada Child Benefit Payments

The ongoing global IT outage, which began on Friday, poses a risk of delays for recipients of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), according to the federal government’s announcement. Although the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has initiated the distribution of CCB payments, concerns have been raised regarding potential disruptions in the banking system.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, the Minister of National Revenue, took to social media to inform the public that the CRA itself is not experiencing the effects of the global technical difficulties. She noted that all eligible families have been sent their CCB payments.

However, Bibeau acknowledged that some banks might struggle with processing these transactions in light of the widespread IT issues. The government is committed to collaborating with financial institutions to minimize any disruption and ensure a smooth transfer of funds to families who rely on these payments.

The global outage has impacted numerous industries, leading to significant disruptions. Airlines have grounded flights, broadcasters have ceased operations, and various sectors including banking and healthcare have faced issues due to system failures.

Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike confirmed that its Falcon Sensor software is responsible for an alarming number of crashes within Microsoft Windows systems. This software malfunction resulted in what is popularly known as a “blue screen of death.”

George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, provided updates on the situation via social media, assuring customers that the company is actively addressing the defect stemming from a specific content update aimed at Windows hosts. He clarified that both Mac and Linux systems remain unaffected by this glitch.

In response to the growing concerns about the incident, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE)—Canada’s signals intelligence agency—indicated that it reached out to Crowdstrike, extending offers of assistance should they require additional help in managing the crisis.

The CSE reassured the public that, as of now, this situation does not appear to be a cyber security breach or an intentional attack. They are actively working with various Government of Canada partners to evaluate any potential repercussions stemming from the outage.

Kurtz also conveyed that while some impacted systems may not restore automatically, Crowdstrike is committed to ensuring that every affected customer returns to normal operations.