A massive IT glitch originating from Microsoft’s cloud computing services early Friday has caused widespread disruptions in the United States and across the globe. Major airlines, businesses, media organizations and emergency services have all been severely impacted, NBC News reports.
Globally, people are seeing the dreaded “blue screen of death” instead of information needed to do things like bank, shop, or fly. In the U.S., American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines issued ground stops, halting flights on Friday morning due to communication issues. Passengers at several airports nationwide cannot view flight updates, print boarding passes and other necessary information to fly.
Delta announced a “global ground stop,” according to Rep. Eric Swalwell, a member of the House subcommittee on cybersecurity. Alaska State Troopers reported that 911 and non-emergency phone numbers across the state were not working due to a “nationwide technology-related outage.”
Officials from Cybersecurity firm Crowsdstrike say this was not a cyberattack but an issue caused due to an issue with a software update that caused a glitch.
“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted,” CEO George Kurtz said in a statement on X.
“This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified and isolated, and a fix has been deployed.”
Internationally, Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport and Sydney Airport faced delays. Aena, which manages 46 airports in Spain, reported a computer system incident causing potential delays. Paris’s airport authority stated that the glitch impacted operations at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports, leading to check-in delays and flight suspensions.
Train operators in the United Kingdom canceled services due to IT outages, and the London Stock Exchange reported a “3rd party global technical issue” halting its regulatory news service.
Microsoft acknowledged the problem with its Azure Service and Microsoft 365 apps, including Teams, and stated it was resolved early Friday. However, many companies in the U.S. and Europe continued to report issues, with Microsoft admitting that “a small subset of services is still experiencing residual impact.”
Authorities and businesses worldwide are working to restore normal operations following this significant technological disruption.
*This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.*