Banks, Airlines, Media Outlets, Others Hit As Windows PC Suffers Global Outage

A mass IT outage has caused significant disruptions worldwide, impacting major banks, media outlets, and airlines. The outage has led to grounded flights, long queues at airports, and affected business and communication systems.

The root cause of the outage remains unclear. However, Microsoft’s statement indicated that it was taking “mitigation action” to address “the lingering impact” of the outage. Reports suggest a link to a glitch at global cyber-security firm Crowdstrike.

What Caused This?

The exact cause of the outage is still unknown. Australia’s Home Affairs Ministry spokesperson mentioned the issue appeared to be connected to Crowdstrike. Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator referred to it as a “large-scale technical outage” with no evidence of an attack.

American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier by passenger numbers, attributed the IT problems to a “technical issue with Crowdstrike that is impacting multiple carriers.” United Airlines also cited a “third-party software outage” affecting global computer systems, including their own.

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Speculation points to a software update from Crowdstrike, known for its antivirus software, that may have caused Windows devices to crash. Following the incident, Crowdstrike’s shares dropped by as much as 14% in early trade, with declines also seen in Microsoft’s shares and travel and leisure stocks, threatening the holiday season.

Who is Affected?

The outage first emerged in Australia, where payment systems failed at stores like Woolworths, and financial institutions, including the National Australia Bank, were impacted. The issue soon spread to the US, where Alaska’s emergency services were affected. Airlines like United, Delta, and American Airlines grounded flights worldwide.

Australian airlines Virgin Australia and Jetstar also faced delays and cancellations as departure screens went blank at Sydney airport. Airports in Tokyo-Narita and Delhi reported affected services, while European airports like London’s Stansted and Gatwick and Amsterdam’s Schiphol experienced delays and long queues. Ryanair warned of “potential disruptions across the network” due to the third-party outage.

Broadcasters, including Sky News in the UK, went off air. The London Stock Exchange maintained operations but faced issues with its news service, which companies use to report market-sensitive information promptly. In Israel, 15 hospitals switched to manual processes without affecting medical treatment, and ambulances were redirected to other hospitals.

Poland’s largest container terminal, the Baltic Hub in Gdansk, reported that the outage is “hampering terminal operations” and asked companies to refrain from sending containers to the port. In the UK, railway companies reported delays due to “widespread IT issues,” and some doctors’ surgeries faced appointment booking problems. UK bakery chain Gail’s reported an inability to process in-store payments.