CrowdStrike’s Fallout, Harris’s Stance on Tech, and Yandex’s Rise from the Ashes
A Deep Dive into the Impact of CrowdStrike’s Outage and Its Aftermath
On today’s episode of Equity, we’re going to take a closer look at the recent CrowdStrike outage, which affected around 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide, causing disruptions in air travel, banking, hospitals, media outlets, federal agencies, and businesses of all kinds. This event has provided a stark example of just how vulnerable our critical infrastructure systems are, particularly if our adversaries decide to launch cyberattacks.
The Outage: A Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability
The outage began when CrowdStrike, a cloud security giant, sent out a defective software update. While CrowdStrike quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, the fallout continued over the weekend and will likely continue into this week, particularly for the travel sector. United, American, and Delta airlines collectively saw thousands of flights canceled and delayed, which will have ripple effects throughout the week.
The Repurcussions of the Outage
Rebecca Bellan takes us through how this outage has highlighted the critical infrastructure vulnerability, with the potential for widespread disruptions to critical systems. This event also raises concerns about the need for greater regulation of monopolies that offer essential services, particularly in areas like cloud security.
Kamala Harris’s Stance on Technology: Focusing on Regulation and Oversight
Moving on from the CrowdStrike outage, we’re taking a closer look at Vice President Kamala Harris’s stance on technology. With President Joe Biden stepping out of the presidential race and officially endorsing his right-hand man, Harris has emerged as a strong contender for the presidency. Her views on technology are centered around oversight for Big Tech companies to protect consumer privacy, as well as AI regulation to prevent companies from prioritizing profits over people and society.
Some prominent figures in the VC and tech world have expressed support for Harris, including VCs like John Doerr and Ron Conway, who were among her early supporters. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, also endorsed her during her presidential campaign. While some in the industry have shown hesitation due to concerns about potential regulatory overreach, others see Harris’s stance on technology as a breath of fresh air.
Nvidia’s Plans for Chinese Market: A Reversal of Fortunes
Rebecca Bellan digs into a Reuters report detailing Nvidia’s plans to build a version of its new flagship AI chips for the Chinese market that are compatible with current U.S. export controls. In 2023, the U.S. tightened controls on exports of semiconductors to China in an effort to limit the Chinese military’s breakthroughs in supercomputing. However, it appears Nvidia is not keen to let the Chinese market slip through its fingers.
Yandex’s Comeback from Nasdaq Limbo: A New Era for European AI Compute
Finally, Rebecca takes us on a journey with a deep dive from TechCrunch’s Paul Sawers on Yandex, once referred to as the ‘Google of Russia.’ After being forced into Nasdaq limbo due to its ties to Russia, Yandex has severed all connections with Russia and sold off its Russian assets in a fire sale earlier this year. The company is now operating under the name Nebius AI, adopting one of its few remaining assets.
Yandex’s new goal is to become a European AI compute leader. With its roots as a corporation-startup hybrid, Nebius AI aims to revolutionize the way Europe approaches AI compute. This development highlights the potential for companies to pivot and adapt in response to changing circumstances, even in the face of adversity.
Stay Tuned for More Insights from Equity
Thank you for joining us on this journey through the world of technology and innovation. Stay tuned for more insights and analysis from the latest episodes of Equity, covering topics like AI, defense tech, fintech, and more.
