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Widespread Microsoft Outage Disrupts Flights, Banks, Stock Exchanges, and Broadcasts

A major Microsoft outage has caused widespread disruption across the globe, affecting flights, banks, stock exchanges, and broadcasters. The incident began impacting various computer systems, leading to grounded flights, halted banking operations, disrupted payment systems, and interrupted emergency services.

Microsoft first acknowledged the outage on social media around six hours after it was reported, stating that “multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress.” Later, Microsoft confirmed that the “underlying cause for the global outage has been fixed,” though residual issues continue to affect some Office 365 apps and services.

CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm, also addressed the situation, revealing that a fix had been deployed for a bug responsible for the global IT disruption impacting airports, banks, and media outlets. The outage is likely linked to issues with CrowdStrike Falcon, a cybersecurity platform used for Microsoft Windows, with both companies attributing the problem to a “recent update received in the product” rather than a cyberattack.

In India, the outage caused significant delays in flight operations, disrupted payment systems, and impacted trading activities. Several airlines, including IndiGo, Akasa Airlines, and SpiceJet, experienced issues with booking and check-in services. The central government is in discussions with Microsoft to address the issue, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology expected to release an advisory soon.

Major Airline Disruptions

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced that the outage rendered flight management impossible, leading to a suspension of most operations. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and Berlin Airport also experienced severe disruptions, including halted flights and delayed check-ins. In the US, major airlines like American Airlines, Delta, and United grounded all flights. Other global airports, including those in Spain and the UK, faced similar disruptions, with Turkish Airlines and other carriers experiencing issues with ticketing and reservations.

Stock Exchanges Affected

Stock exchanges worldwide were disrupted, including the London Stock Exchange. Brokerage firms, such as Nuvama, Edelweiss, and Motilal Oswal, reported technical difficulties, with traders in India facing significant operational interruptions.

News Broadcasters Down

The outage also impacted news services globally. Britain’s Sky News and Associated Press faced broadcast and service disruptions, while ABC News in Australia experienced similar issues. The outage even affected the Paris Olympics 2024 IT operations, causing concerns just a week before the Games.

Response and Resolution

Microsoft and CrowdStrike have both confirmed that they are actively working to resolve the issue. Microsoft stated that improvements are being seen, with ongoing rerouting of affected traffic to healthy infrastructure. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz noted that the issue stemmed from a defect in a recent content update for Windows hosts, but Mac and Linux systems were unaffected.

Resolution Steps

The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) issued guidance on resolving the issue, including steps to revert changes and boot systems into Safe Mode to address persistent problems. The IT Ministry of India, led by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, confirmed that the NIC network was unaffected and that updates to resolve the issue are underway.

As the situation continues to unfold, social media has been abuzz with reactions and memes about the global outage, reflecting the widespread impact and ongoing efforts to restore normalcy.

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