Sept 10 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) held a summit on

Tuesday to discuss steps to improve cybersecurity systems, after

a faulty software update from CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) caused a

global IT outage in July.

The conference marked the first significant step by

Microsoft ( MSFT ) to address the issues that affected nearly 8.5 million

Windows devices on July 19, disrupting operations across

industries ranging from major airlines to banks and healthcare.

It was held at Microsoft's ( MSFT ) headquarters in Redmond,

Washington.

The July outage raised concerns that many organizations are

not well prepared to implement contingency plans when a single

point of failure such as an IT system, or a piece of software

within it, goes down. Analysts have said the outage also exposed

risks of dependence on a single vendor providing a one-stop shop

for security solutions.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) executive David Weston told the summit that the

"Windows security ecosystem must come together to innovate a

safer and more reliable world," according to a Microsoft ( MSFT ) post on

X.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) has said it was pursuing legal

claims against CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ), after the outage

caused mass flight cancellations and cost the carrier at least

$500 million.