A MICROSOFT outage has caused tech chaos around the world, from bricking-up PCs to keeping planes on the tarmac.
The tech giant has blamed a third party for the incident. It’s understood the third party is cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
GettySupermarkets, shops and pubs have also been hit, as shoppers are asked to pay cash at tills[/caption]
In a statement, Microsoft said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third party software platform.
“We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.”
CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz said the company has found a defect in a recent CrowdStrike Windows update that caused the issue.
“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts,” he wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.
“Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
Here are all the systems and businesses currently impacted:
Tech
Several broadcasters worldwide have been forced to go off air due to the disruption.
In the UK, most notably Sky News and CBBC disappeared this morning.
The full worldwide list includes:
Sky News UK
Sky Sports News
ABC News (Australia)
CBBC – the BBC’s children’s channel
The London Stock Exchange has also been affected, with technical issues striking out the body’s Regulatory News Service (RNS).
Laptops and PCs have been experiencing so-called Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, which essentially locks users out of their computers.
According to outage site Downdetector, users have been reporting issues with banking and Visa services, as well as BT and online gaming platforms.
The full list of affected banks include:
Nationwide
Santander
Lloyds
HSBC
NatWest
Bendigo Bank in Australia
Adelaide Bank in Australia
Capitec Bank in South Africa (services have been restored)
Retail
Supermarkets, shops and pubs have also been hit, as shoppers are asked to pay cash at tills.
Here’s the full list of retailers, pubs and banks affected in the UK:
Morrisons
Metro Bank
Wetherspoons
Waitrose
Co-op
Visa
Coles Supermarkets in Australia have also been affected.
Thousands of holidaymakers queuing at Stansted Airport this morning after check-ins were done manually due to mass IT outages
Travel
Not only has the outage affected airlines worldwide, but railway stations too.
UK airports that have been affected include:
London Stansted
London Gatwick
London Heathrow
London Luton
Manchester Airport
Liverpool Airport
Edinburgh Airport
Glasgow Airport
All Spanish airports have also been affected, alongside Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Sydney Airport in Australia, Singapore’s Changi Airport, Hong Kong Airport and Swissport, which hosts one of the world’s biggest ground handling services.
Many UK and US flights have been grounded, on what was expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year.
The airlines affected include:
Ryanair
Delta Airlines
American Airlines
Virgin Australia
SpiceJet and Akasa Air (Both low-cost Indian airlines)
WizzAir
Full list of affected train lines:
Avanti West Coast
Gatwick Express
Great Northern
Great Western Railway
Hull Trains
London Northwestern
Lumo Railway
Northern Railway
Southern Railway
Thameslink
TransPennine
West Midlands Rail
Malaysia’s railway operator KTMB
People at ferry port services may also be experiencing longer wait times, including at the Port of Dover in the UK.
AlamyNHS England has said the “majority of GP surgeries” are affected[/caption]
Healthcare
NHS England has said the “majority of GP surgeries” are affected.
People across the UK have been unable to book appointments or access patient records.
Some independent pharmacies are unable to access prescriptions and medicine deliveries have been affected, according to Sky News.
There has been no known impact on 999 or emergency services in the UK.
In the US, however, 911 lines in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Ohio have been disrupted.
