A widespread IT outage has crippled operations at major global institutions, including international airlines, banks, media outlets, and hospitals. The incident, which began early Friday, has affected numerous countries, with Australia experiencing particularly severe disruptions.
Microsoft, a key player in the global IT infrastructure, acknowledged the issue. the company in an official service update posted on X.stated, “We are investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.”
However, a Microsoft spokesperson later told the BBC, “The majority of services were recovered” hours earlier.
The tech giant attributed the outage to a configuration change in a portion of its Azure backend workloads, leading to connectivity failures affecting Microsoft 365 services, including PowerBI, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive for Business.
In Australia, the impact was particularly noticeable. Sky News Australia temporarily went off air, later displaying a slate apologizing for an “interruption to this broadcast.” David Rhodes, Sky News executive chairman, confirmed the channel’s inability to broadcast live but assured viewers that online news reports remained available.
“We’re working to restore full services as quickly as possible,” Rhodes stated on social media.
The retail sector also felt the effects, with customers reporting long queues at stores like Woolworths due to downed payment systems. Financial institutions, including the National Australia Bank, experienced service disruptions, leaving customers unable to access their accounts.
In the United States, several states reported that emergency services were affected. Multiple U.S. airlines grounded flights worldwide, causing significant travel disruptions. United Airlines, for instance, ceased operations temporarily.
The impact extended to Europe as well. In Germany, Berlin airport experienced IT problems, causing delays in check-ins due to technical faults. The London Stock Exchange Group’s platform also encountered disruptions.
Rail transportation was not spared. In the UK, Govia Thameslink Railway reported widespread IT issues across its network.
A company spokesperson said, “We’re actively investigating the root cause and urge passengers to check their journeys before traveling.”
The outage has also been linked to issues with CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity software firm. Australia’s Telstra Group confirmed service disruptions due to the global issues affecting both CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
