Global IT Meltdown: Microsoft Outage Causes Chaos Worldwide

A massive Microsoft outage disrupted airlines, banks, media outlets, and companies worldwide, causing widespread havoc. New Zealand's acting PM and Israel's Cyber Directorate addressed the issue, while multiple sectors in various countries struggled with outages. The cause remains unclear, and Microsoft is working to reroute traffic to alleviate the impact.

A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets, and companies globally on Friday, causing escalating disruptions even hours after the tech giant began fixing the issue affecting Microsoft 365 apps and services access.

According to DownDetector, services at Visa, ADT Security, Amazon, American Airlines, and Delta were among those experiencing growing outages. Australian airlines, banks, media broadcasters, and telecommunications providers were also impacted. Microsoft 365 announced on X that they were working on rerouting impacted traffic to alleviate the issue swiftly, noting a positive trend in service restoration. The company has yet to explain the problem's cause fully.

New Zealand's acting Prime Minister, David Seymour, stated they were moving quickly to understand the potential impacts, noting there's no evidence linking the issue to malicious cyber activity. Israel's Cyber Directorate pointed to a problem with the cybersecurity platform Crowdstrike, also affecting its post offices and hospitals. Major disruptions continued, grounding airlines in the US, paralyzing airports, and causing chaos for passengers globally.

(With inputs from agencies.)