Global IT Outage: Thousands of Businesses Disrupted
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A massive global IT outage on Friday caused widespread disruption to businesses and services across the world. Thousands of workers were unable to log on to their computers, affecting operations in finance, healthcare, and other industries.
The Outage
The outage began in Australia, where retailers such as Woolworths and 7-Eleven were affected. Sydney airport also reported a "global technical outage" that impacted its operations. In Europe, airlines and airports warned of disruption, with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounding flights due to take off.
Causes of the Outage
The outage has been blamed on a security update from US company CrowdStrike, which caused a problem with Microsoft’s Windows. Both PCs and servers appear to be affected, suggesting that millions of computers may need to be fixed for the issue to be fully resolved.
Impact on Airlines and Airports
The disruption spread rapidly across airlines and airports worldwide. Dutch carrier KLM said the problems had made it impossible to handle flights and suspended most of its operations. Other airlines, including Ryanair, advised passengers to arrive at the airport earlier than planned and to check on the status of their flights.
Airports Affected
Prague airport reported that the problems centered on the IT behind the global check-in system, which is the backbone of airline operations for departing flights. Berlin Brandenburg airport said it had also been hit by a technical fault, causing delays for passengers. Aena, Spain’s main airports operator, said operations were being carried out using manual systems due to an "incident" in its IT system.
Other Industries Affected
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said it was investigating an issue with the publication of news announcements. Its news service was experiencing a "third-party global technical issue, which prevented news from being published." LSEG said other systems, including the exchange, were running normally.
Microsoft’s Azure Services
Microsoft said some of its Azure cloud computing customers may experience issues with multiple Azure services in the central US region. However, security consultants said this appeared to be unrelated to the problems caused by CrowdStrike.
Media Outlets Affected
Sky News, a UK-based broadcaster, said it had not been able to broadcast live TV due to the outage. However, broadcasting has since resumed.
Conclusion
The global IT outage has caused significant disruption to businesses and services worldwide. The cause of the outage has been attributed to a security update from CrowdStrike, which affected Microsoft’s Windows. The impact has been widespread, with airlines, airports, and other industries affected.
FAQs
Q: What caused the global IT outage?
A: The outage was caused by a security update from US company CrowdStrike, which affected Microsoft’s Windows.
Q: Which industries were affected?
A: The outage affected airlines, airports, finance, healthcare, and other industries.
Q: Which airlines were affected?
A: Airlines such as KLM, Ryanair, and Delta were affected, with some grounding flights due to take off.
Q: Which airports were affected?
A: Airports such as Sydney, Prague, Berlin Brandenburg, and others were affected, with some experiencing delays and cancellations.
Q: Is the outage resolved?
A: The outage is still ongoing, with millions of computers potentially affected. It is unclear when the issue will be fully resolved.
Q: Who is responsible for the outage?
A: CrowdStrike, the US company responsible for the security update, has not commented on the outage.
Author: www.ft.com
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