Yet another Major global tech outage....Microsoft!

hollydolly

hollydolly

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A massive Microsoft outage has sparked chaos around the world - grounding flights and knocking hospitals, GP surgeries, train services, banks, stock exchanges and TV channels offline.

The technical fault has caused Windows computers to suddenly shut down, prompting departure boards to suddenly turn off at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh on one of the busiest days for global aviation since Covid.

Train passengers have been told to expect delays due to 'widespread IT issues across the entire network', while a number of GP surgeries have shut down due to problems with the NHS appointment booking system.

Huge queues have been seen at airports including Gatwick, Luton and Edinburgh; Ryanair and Wizz Air are warning of 'disruption'; and TV channels including Sky News and CBBC spent time off air.

Microsoft has confirmed it was investigating an 'issue' with its 365 apps and operating systems and said users should expect 'service degradation'.

US cyber security company CrowdStrike has admitted to being responsible for the error and said they are 'working on it'. Experts believe the issue could have been caused by a 'buggy' security update but say it is too early to 'rule out' a cyberattack.

Windows is the most used operating system in the world, meaning the outage is affecting almost every part of the global economy - with restaurants and cafes, including the bakery chain Gail's, unable to take card payments.
Around the world banks, supermarkets and other major institutions said computer issues were disrupting services.
 

Speaking to MailOnline, a practice manager of a GP practice in Berkshire said: 'We are completely dead in the water.

'We can't see any patients are systems are down. It's not clinically safe to treat patients because we can't see their notes.

'Can't give out prescriptions and even if we do hand write them the problem is also affecting the pharmacies. It's affecting the whole area and hospitals are in an even worse situation.'

The LSE Group, which operates the London stock exchange, said it was experiencing a global technical issue preventing news from being published.

Bristol Water said it is experiencing company wide IT issues but the billing department remains operating.

Even football clubs have been affected, telling fans that its ticketing platform was malfunctioning.

Microsoft 365 say they are investigating an issue impacting users' ability to access apps and services.
 
What is CrowdStrike, why is it experiencing issues, and could a cyberattack be responsible?
By Kevin Airs
The rogue app suspected to be the root cause of bringing down computers across the world is ironically aimed at protecting PCs from hackers.
Crowdstrike is a security service designed to stop internet breaches for the world's biggest companies, but a rogue update is believed to brought the world to its knees.
The software update is believed to have been sent out to subscriber computers several hours ago - instantly causing chaos.
Computer analysts believe a badly-written bit of code in the update triggered the catastrophe and wrecked computer networks worldwide.
Dr Mark Gregory, associate professor at RMIT University's School of Engineering, said he believed an update to one of CrowdStrike's software products, called Falcon, is 'bricking' computers running Windows, making them inoperable.

Jake Moore, tech expert and security advisor at ESET, agreed it was likely a 'technical fault' from Crowdstrike, but said we can't rule out a cyberattack.

'At this moment it is more likely to be a huge technical fault but the fact it is possible is extremely worrying,' he told MailOnline.

'If anything, it would make threat actors take note of this particular outage and the potential damage it can cause.'

Professor Jill Slay, chair in cybersecurity at University of South Australia, said at this stage it is 'too early to draw conclusions' but an attack is not impossible.

'While the outage may easily be a result of misconfiguration by one of these companies, or 'interference' between products, the global impact is enormous,' she said.
 

hollydolly said:
A massive Microsoft outage has sparked chaos around the world - grounding flights and knocking hospitals, GP surgeries, train services, banks, stock exchanges and TV channels offline.

The technical fault has caused Windows computers to suddenly shut down, prompting departure boards to suddenly turn off at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh on one of the busiest days for global aviation since Covid.

Train passengers have been told to expect delays due to 'widespread IT issues across the entire network', while a number of GP surgeries have shut down due to problems with the NHS appointment booking system.

Huge queues have been seen at airports including Gatwick, Luton and Edinburgh; Ryanair and Wizz Air are warning of 'disruption'; and TV channels including Sky News and CBBC spent time off air.

Microsoft has confirmed it was investigating an 'issue' with its 365 apps and operating systems and said users should expect 'service degradation'.

US cyber security company CrowdStrike has admitted to being responsible for the error and said they are 'working on it'. Experts believe the issue could have been caused by a 'buggy' security update but say it is too early to 'rule out' a cyberattack.

Windows is the most used operating system in the world, meaning the outage is affecting almost every part of the global economy - with restaurants and cafes, including the bakery chain Gail's, unable to take card payments.
Around the world banks, supermarkets and other major institutions said computer issues were disrupting services.
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Ye gods!!!! Do they not have a back-up system, or is that beyond their technical capabilities?

We are constantly being spoon fed how wonderful all this new technology is, but when it 'conks out', the chaos caused is much worse than when a fuse blew in an appliance in days gone by.

My friend across the road worked for many years as a secretary.
She told me about when the firm introduced a computer system, but how she stored all the original files in filing cabinets in the cellar.
Fast forward 18 months to when the computer system broke down, she calmly went into the cellar and found all the needed files, thus saving the firm from embarrassment.
 
MaxHarris said:
shop up the road from me has put a post on the village Facebook page that it is 'cash only'.........I can imagine mucho wailing that 'Its no fair, what are we to do'. Now where is that thread about using cash.
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yep apparently Cash only signs in many places including Australia...
87531867-13650333-A_checkout_worker_in_a_Little_Waitrose_at_Kings_Cross_Station_to-m-70_1721382133815.jpg
87529811-13650333-Windows_is_the_most_used_operating_system_in_the_world_meaning_t-a-47_1721380686913.jpg
87531069-13650333-AUSTRALIA_The_blue_screen_of_death_is_seen_at_a_supermarket_in_B-a-50_1721380686914.jpg
 

Crowdstrike breaks silence after Microsoft glitch causes huge IT outage​

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Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike has released a statement after an IT glitch involving the company's tech caused huge outages around the world.

Crowdstrike - which provides security protection for cloud software including the Microsoft 365 platform - said a corrupted update file on Windows hosts was the cause of the problems. Company president George Kurtz said: "CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.

"The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers."
 
hearlady said:
Outages are always very concerning because we know the amount of disruption and destruction a major cyber strike could cause. It would not be fun.
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it's just happening far too regularly.. and it's clear we will all very soon become reliant on it for everything. Even money because for sure they will stop cash payments for everything.. and we'll all be at the mercy of Tech.... as now.. today..people who are used to paying for their groceries by card, cannot today...
 
They are now calling it ''the most serious outage the world has ever seen ''

The 'most serious IT outage the world has ever seen' sparked global chaos today - with planes and trains halted, the NHS disrupted, shops closed, football teams unable to sell tickets and banks and TV channels knocked offline.

Officials have held an emergency COBRA meeting after a devastating technical fault caused Microsoft's Windows computers to suddenly shut down, prompting departure boards to immediately turn off at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh on the busiest day for British airports since Covid.

NHS England said patients should not attend GP appointments unless informed otherwise due to problems with the system used to schedule appointments, while train passengers have been told to expect delays due to 'widespread IT issues across the entire network'.

With more than a thousand flights cancelled globally, passengers were seen sleeping in passageways at Los Angeles International Airport, huge queues formed at terminals across Spain, and in Delhi staff set up a makeshift whiteboard to record departures.

Shops in Australia shut down or went cashless after digital checkouts stopped working, while in the US emergency services lines went down in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Ohio.

Cyber security company CrowdStrike has admitted to being responsible for the error that hit Microsoft 365 apps and operating systems and said a 'fix has been deployed'. The American firm said it was caused by a 'defect found in a single content update' and insisted the issue 'was not a security incident or cyberattack'.

Windows is the most used operating system in the world, meaning the outage is affecting almost every part of the global economy - with supermarkets and cafes, including Morrisons, Waitrose, B&Q and the bakery chain Gail's, previously unable to accept contactless payments . There have even been warnings workers may see a delay to their paychecks.

Technology experts have said the disruption is at the scale expected from Y2K or the 'Millennium Bug', a computer programming shortcut that was forecast to cause chaos as the year changed from 1999 to 2000 but never materialised.
 
dilettante said:
Surely people are keeping enough cash on hand these days to cover necessary expenses for a couple of weeks?
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oooh don't you believe it. I've lost count of people who sneer when you say that you use cash... no need for cash, I only ever use Card.. don't carry money around any more.. they pompously pronounce.....

...but it's not just shopping far from it...It's hospitals unable to make appointments.. unable to use some essential items... Planes grounded , trains halted... shops who don't take cash...closed....so much has been affected..
 
 
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