Global IT outage linked to Microsoft impacts banks, shops and media outlets

A widespread outage at Microsoft has impacted businesses, airports and banks worldwide today, leaving a raft of industries in disarray as they scramble to mend the issue.

According to various media outlets, the disruptions appear to have been caused by an issue with cybersecurity firm CrowdStike, for which Microsoft Windows is a client.

The CEO of the company, George Kurtz, addressed the setbacks in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), reading: “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 organisations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

While first reports of issues began circulating in the US late Thursday evening around 6pm ET, according to Reuters, the extent of damage was not yet realised until early Friday in Europe.

It was then that airports across the globe, including London’s Gatwick and Amsterdam’s Schiphol, began reporting impact from Microsoft’s technical issues and the resulting disruptions to timetables, delaying and grounding flights in some regions.

It appeared the problem also made its way to the London Stock Exchange, which on its website reported that its RNS news service was currently experiencing third party problems “preventing news from being published”. Malaysia’s Bursa Malaysia Bhd stock exchange and stock market traders in India have additionally reported disruptions.

Some companies, including grocers, hospitality venues and stores, have further stated that they have experienced problems in communicating with customers and accepting card payments.

Australian and New Zealand media broadcasters have widely detailed issues and disruption, while in the UK, Sky News remained off air this morning.