Microsoft has pointed fingers at a 2009 European Union deal as the root cause of a recent CrowdStrike meltdown that impacted millions of Windows systems worldwide. The incident, which resulted in a “blue screen of death” for 8.5 million devices, has caused significant disruptions across commercial operations.

A Microsoft spokesperson claimed that a 2009 agreement with the EU obligated the tech giant to grant external security developers the same level of access to Windows as Microsoft itself. This open-door policy, according to the spokesperson, inadvertently paved the way for critical bugs to emerge, culminating in the CrowdStrike failure.

In contrast, companies like Apple have adopted a more walled-off approach to their operating system, potentially offering greater protection against such widespread issues. Patrick Wardle, CEO of DoubleYou, emphasized this point, suggesting that monolithic ecosystems like macOS are inherently more resilient to critical errors.

While CrowdStrike has clarified that the meltdown was not caused by a hack or malicious exploit, the incident has underscored the complexities of maintaining a secure and open operating system. As the investigation unfolds, the repercussions of the 2009 EU deal on the broader cybersecurity landscape are likely to be a subject of intense scrutiny and debate.

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