IT Meltdown Triggers Corporate Reporting Requirements: Explained

Friday’s “blue screen of death” software meltdown grounded flights, upended trading, and disrupted corporate offices after a faulty update crashed Microsoft Windows computer systems worldwide.

The IT failure also puts pressure on the two companies at the center of the chaos—Microsoft Corp. and cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Inc.—to disclose details to investors and Wall Street regulators.

Both companies will be expected to share via securities filings with the market both the immediate news of the mass outage and the subsequent estimated impact on their business operations and customers.

“I’ve got to believe there are rooms full of senior managers and lawyers ...