The global technological blackout paralyzed services at this border, caused flight cancellations and delays and affected thousands of users of international bridges.
Wait times of up to more than three and a half hours were recorded to cross into the United States, while a quarter of manufacturing companies in Ciudad Juárez reported problems when their computer systems were disconnected.
The flaw, which disrupted connections around the world, was attributed to a problem with the software update issued by CrowdStrike on Microsoft Windows systems, according to the US cybersecurity firm.
For Jesús Manuel “Thor” Salayandía, president of the Border Business Block (BEF), this “fall” shows the fragility of the global economy.
Travelers are left with tickets in hand
The global Microsoft outage caused flights to be cancelled and delayed yesterday in Ciudad Juárez, and operations such as documentation and check-in could not be completed. Meanwhile, transportation and commerce reported minimal disruptions, but are on alert for any changes.
Lines of people waiting for more than an hour and requiring manual procedures were seen at the Abraham González International Airport. Inside, a long line of travelers waiting for their flights formed. Javier, 42 years old, was affected.
“We’ve been on the road for about an hour. They told us that all the flights are delayed. I’m going to Mexico City and the flight leaves at 9:35, and boarding is at 9:00. They’re doing everything manually and they’re giving us the boarding pass,” said the passenger, who arrived from Dalhart, Texas.
Other people who saw airlines reporting glitches on social media, including those related to check-in, immediately came forward. One of them was Javier Villegas, 25, who witnessed how staff had to work hard to resolve the situation.
“I arrived at 7:30 and it’s already 8:47… In the morning I saw the news on TV that there were problems, and I arrived here two hours before the flight and saw that it was chaos and that the employees were running everywhere, and I realized that something was happening,” said the citizen bound for Guadalajara.
Through their X profiles, both Volaris and VivaAerobus issued statements mentioning that this failure affected their reservation and documentation platforms. The second airline even decided to cancel all of its international flights; around 50.
Nothing serious happened: Canaco
Elizabeth Villalobos, president of the National Chamber of Commerce (Canaco) said she was examining the impact in the town. She indicated that although there was a disruption, nothing serious happened in the commercial sector, and something similar was reported by Manuel Sotelo, president of the Transporters Association.
The transportation leader said that until yesterday there was “zero” impact on international operations for the crossing of freight by fifth-wheel vehicles, thanks to the work carried out by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“Zero, it is not affecting cargo operations… Cargo has no problem, but there are problems with cars and pedestrians. So far they tell us that there is no (risk at cargo crossings),” he said.
Without quantifying the economic impact on the maquila industry
A quarter of manufacturing companies in Ciudad Juárez were affected yesterday by the global collapse of Microsoft. Sergio Colin, president of Index-Juárez, reported that at least “26 percent” of the associates were impacted in their operations.
He added that those factories that had their operations paused are now operating, however, they are still waiting to quantify the economic damages for the losses derived from the interruption that was attributed to a software update.
“A survey of our associates shows that at least 26 percent have been affected by the Microsoft effect. Those whose operations were affected are already operating, and we will be waiting for a monetary quantification of the losses,” he said.
The outage appeared to be due to a software update issued by Crowdstrike on Microsoft Windows systems. The cybersecurity firm told its customers that engineers were addressing the issue, and the executive stressed that there were indeed impacts.
“There will be temporary impacts, but they have not yet been quantified,” he concluded. Although this media outlet tried to establish contact with the head of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), Isela Molina, there was no response to calls and messages at least until the closing of this edition.
Alejandro Sandoval, local president of the Mexican Institute of Financial Executives (IMEF), said that these events highlight the fragility of the system. He stressed that according to Crowdstrike, the issue was not due to a cyberattack, but rather to an update detail.
“Apparently, according to what they say, it was not a cyber attack, but rather a bug or a small error in an update that brought about this whole sequence of conflicts. Apparently, the system failure has been found, but the solution will have to be seen by who knows how to do it,” he said.
AMAC-Index Juárez reported that it has around 200 companies that generate a workforce of more than 200 thousand workers on this border. In this context, Sandoval said that events like these reveal the fragility of the system, not only locally, but also nationally and globally.
They see it necessary to anticipate future interruptions
Microsoft’s global failure highlights the fragility of the world economy, said Jesús Manuel “Thor” Salayandía, president of the Border Business Bloc (BEF).
He noted that similar situations are likely to continue to occur, so it is essential to be prepared for advances in technology and artificial intelligence to mitigate the impact of future system disruptions.
“It has paralyzed airlines, medical services, television technologies, banks and other businesses and services around the world. Every time we advance in technology, these problems will continue and we will be very dependent on this,” he said.
Salayandía stressed that this incident underlined the need for businesses and governments to invest more in robust technological infrastructure and in the development of efficient backup systems.
“It is surprising how fragile we are, how dependent the global economy is on these technology or software companies. This has an effect on everything else, and it is surprising how fragile the global economy is,” he said.
He added that international collaboration is important to create higher security standards and rapid response protocols to technological crises, as global cooperation is key to confronting these threats.
“This may continue to happen, this interruption due to certain companies or things of that nature will continue; that is what we envision. What is being worked on? We don’t know, but we have to monitor it,” he said.
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