A global IT outage has wiped out vital services worldwide, disrupting public transport links, delaying international flights and restricting operations for healthcare facilities and businesses.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is behind the crash? At least part of the crash appears to result from a software update provided by Crowdstrike on Microsoft Windows systems. The U.S. cybersecurity firm told customers early Friday that engineers are working on the problem, according to an advisory seen by CNN. This issue is specific to Falcon, which is designed to protect files stored in the cloud.
How long will the outage last? Microsoft said the “root cause” of the outage had been “fixed”, with the remaining impact still affecting some services. “We are running additional mitigations to provide relief,” the tech company said in a post on X. Some services have been restored, but others are still struggling with disruptions.
Who is affected? Global banks, medical services and critical infrastructure have been affected by the outage. Medical providers Including the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and Europe’s largest health facilities in northern Germany have been bogged down by IT delays. Meanwhile, Banks, Broadcasting stations And Supermarkets Australia, New Zealand and the UK were affected, including ABC News and Sky News.
Airlines are worst hit: There were scenes of panicked passengers filling the corridors of major airports on Friday as the US and other international airlines in Europe, Asia and the Middle East were forced to delay and cancel flights. There are about 110,000 scheduled commercial flights worldwide today, according to preliminary data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shared with CNN. As of 6 am, 1,390 flights were canceled worldwide. That number is growing.
International Answer: The White House says it is “looking into” the disruption caused by Friday morning’s internet outage. “We are aware of this incident and are investigating the issue and vulnerabilities,” a White House National Security Council spokesman told CNN. Meanwhile, the UK government held an emergency meeting to discuss the outage, Downing Street said, according to the UK’s PA media news agency.
