A major IT outage reportedly linked to a problem at the U.S. cyber-security firm CrowdStrike has caused chaos for businesses around the world. The global software issue has forced many banks, airlines, and broadcasters to go offline, and caused many Windows computers to crash suddenly.
Microsoft has warned of a "severe degradation" to its services, but added that a number of its products had been restored. Among the products still impacted is Microsoft Teams, on which users may be unable to access group chats. Microsoft Purview, Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Fabric, and PowerBI are all still affected, the company said.
CrowdStrike also commented on the outages, according to CNBC, saying: "CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon Sensor." The exact cause of the problem remains unknown, but it appears to be linked to an update to CrowdStrike software, which affected a number of Microsoft services worldwide.
Impact on Airlines and Airports
In the U.S., several major airlines including Delta, United, and American Airlines grounded flights on Friday morning, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. United said in a statement: "A third party software outage is impacting computer systems worldwide, including at United. While we work to restore those systems, we are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights already airborne are continuing to their destinations."
Many airports across the world have resorted to checking in passengers manually and providing them with handwritten boarding passes, leading to reports of widespread delays. Emergency service call lines have also reportedly been down across a number of U.S. states.
Banking and Retail Disruptions
In Australia, a number of the country's largest banks have been impacted. Self-checkout and digital payment services were also reported to have crashed at many shops across the country.
Broadcasting and Stock Exchange Issues
Meanwhile, the British broadcaster Sky News was temporarily unable to broadcast live on Friday morning. The London Stock Exchange issued a warning that its Regulatory News Service was experiencing technical issues. The Paris Olympics' organizing committee also said on Friday that its IT operation had been impacted.
As businesses worldwide grapple with the fallout from this unprecedented IT outage, the focus remains on restoring services and understanding the root cause of the disruption. The incident underscores the critical importance of robust cyber-security measures and reliable IT infrastructure in today's interconnected world.