Summary

On Friday, a major Microsoft outage disrupted services worldwide, affecting banks, airlines, and media broadcasters. The issue impacted Microsoft 365 apps and services, leading to widespread interruptions. Despite Microsoft’s efforts to resolve the problem, the exact cause and scale of the outage remain unclear.

Wellington:

A widespread outage of Microsoft services affected users globally, causing significant disruptions for banks, airlines, and media broadcasters on Friday. The incident occurred just hours after Microsoft announced it was gradually addressing an issue impacting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services. Despite the company’s efforts, the exact cause, nature, and scale of the outage remain unclear.

Escalating Disruptions Despite Fix Attempts

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Microsoft indicated that it was making progress in resolving the issue. However, reports of escalating outages continued to surface from around the world. DownDetector, a website that tracks user-reported internet outages, noted growing disruptions in services at Visa, ADT security, Amazon, and airlines including American Airlines and Delta.

Widespread Impact Across Industries

News outlets in Australia reported that the outages affected a broad range of sectors, including airlines, telecommunications providers, banks, and media broadcasters. Some New Zealand banks also reported being offline. Microsoft 365’s official account on X stated that the company was “working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact in a more expedient fashion” and observed a “positive trend in service availability.”

Despite these updates, Microsoft did not provide a detailed explanation for the outage and did not respond to requests for comment.

Australian Sectors Hit Hard

In Australia, the outage impacted several major banks, including NAB, Commonwealth, and Bendigo. Airlines such as Virgin Australia and Qantas also reported disruptions, as did internet and phone providers like Telstra. Media broadcasters, including the ABC and Sky News, faced significant challenges, with sudden shutdowns of Windows-based computers hindering their ability to broadcast on TV and radio channels.

An X user posted a screenshot of an alert from Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity company, stating that it was aware of “reports of crashes on Windows hosts” related to its Falcon Sensor platform. This alert was posted on a password-protected Crowdstrike site and could not be independently verified. Crowdstrike also did not respond to a request for comment.

Global Implications and Concerns

The global nature of this outage raises concerns about the reliability and resilience of cloud-based services, which are integral to the operations of critical sectors such as finance, aviation, and media. The incident underscores the potential vulnerabilities in widespread reliance on a single technology provider for essential services.

As Microsoft works to fully resolve the issue, businesses and organizations affected by the outage will likely reassess their dependency on Microsoft services and explore strategies to mitigate risks associated with such disruptions in the future.

This outage serves as a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of modern digital infrastructure and the far-reaching implications when key components fail. As more information becomes available, stakeholders will be keenly interested in understanding the root cause of the outage and measures taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future.